Words the Heart Can't Say
by Guera Mexicana
Summary: This takes place after 100 days. Something has happened that will shake things up with SG-1. Later chapters might get steamy
1. Chapter 1

This takes place after 100 days. Something has happened that will shake things up with SG-1

* * *

Sam rushed through the halls trying her best to avoid everyone's gaze. Like it or not she had to get this over with. Now. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but hesitated briefly. After one last deep breath and she knocked.

"Come in." She heard him say. "Major Carter, how are…"

His voice trailed off as he saw her crestfallen face. "General, I need to speak with you. It's important."

"Of course, sit down." He gestured toward a chair in front of his desk. She obeyed.

Though her head was down General Hammond could tell she was very upset. He wasn't sure whether or not to start the conversation for her. When she looked up he got the impression that she didn't need any coaxing.

"I'm pregnant, sir."

Hammond's eyes nearly popped out of his head before he composed himself. "Congratulations," he said very slowly. He wasn't certain this was happy news for her, yet. "Major, how are you feeling?"

Sam could feel the concern in his voice. "Not too bad, yet, sir. A little nausea, but its still very early."

"No, Major. How do you feel about what you just told me?"

"I…uh…I'm…" but the words never came. Major Samantha Carter burst into tears.

With that the General left the room and George walked over and put his arms around his friend. "It's ok." He tried to sooth her and his heart broke at every involuntary shudder that she gave. George allowed her some time to just cry. After she calmed down he realized they had to discuss this. "Major, I'm afraid I have to ask you something." Knowing his primary team was very close he simply had to know one thing. "Who is the father?"

She knew exactly what he was asking and it was difficult for her to admit the truth. She shook her head slightly and said, "It was just a one night stand, sir." She started crying again. "I don't even know his name." Sam buried her head I her hands. In between her sobs she spoke. "I took a home test this morning and went straight to Dr. Fraser." I'm almost 5 weeks along.

Hammond sighed. "You know I don't have to say this, but unfortunately all your off-world missions are now cancelled." She nodded. It was the very first thing she realized once she saw the test results. It will be the hardest thing for her to accept. "But, that doesn't mean you can't be an essential part of my team. I know how much you love to tinker with all the things everyone brings back. Maybe you can help us a lot more this way."

She gave a small smile. He was being very sweet to her. "Sir, I would appreciate it if you let me tell them."

"I understand, Major. I'm going to give SG-4 your next mission."

"Colonel O'Neill won't like that." Sam suddenly dreaded having to tell Jack about what was going on. "Maybe if I tell him about the mission it will soften the blow a little."

Hammond nodded trying to smile. "Is there anything else, Major?" He wanted to let her have her own time to wrap her head around her dilemma. She shook her head. "Ok. You're dismissed." It was just a formality he was forced to use. She slowly stood and started for the door. "Sam?"

Her first name was so foreign coming from him. She turned around and he took both of her hands. "Have you ever been pregnant before?" He was acting so lovingly.

"No."

He squeezed her hands and smiled gently. "I know this is all really difficult for you, but you need to realize how wonderful this is. You have a little life growing in side of you. Enjoy being pregnant and don't worry about anything else."

Sam smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"If you ever need anything, you just let me know. I'll take care of it."

His gentleness surprised her and she didn't know what to say. "Thank you," she repeated.

* * *

Sam sat in her lab staring at the same slides she had been looking at for the better part of 20 minutes when a quiet knock sounded at her door. "Come in," she called. "Daniel, Teal'C."

"Hey, Sam. Whatcha doin?" Daniel's greeting always made her relax.

"Uh, nothing, really. Just looking at these microorganisms. What are you guys up to?"

"We were preparing to begin a sparring match. Care to join us?" Teal'C's invitation was crushing.

"I'm sorry, I can't, but thank you." Sam tried not to reveal the way it made her feel. "Guys, I have something to tell you." Their eyebrows raised in unison. "First of all, I would really like to be able to tell Colonel O'Neill myself." Their eyebrows raised even further. She cleared her throat preparing herself for this. "I'm, well, I'm pregnant."

Their mouths opened slightly upon hearing her declaration. "Um, Sam! That's great!" Daniel said first.

"Congratulations, Major Carter" Teal'C gave a small bow.

It wasn't until then that she started crying. "Sam? What is it?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. And I don't know what I'll do. I feel like my whole life has come to an end." They clearly didn't understand why she really felt like this. "It was a one night stand."

There, the realization came. _It's not Jack's_. She knew exactly what they were thinking. "Please, let me be the one to tell him."

"Oh, Sam!" Daniel engulfed her in a much needed hug. "Don't worry, Jack will understand."

"I'll understand what?" His voice came through the room like a sonic boom to her.

The three of them turned to find Jack had come through the open door. "Colonel?" Sam was terrified.

"What did I miss?" He asked.

Daniel turned to her, "Sam, let us know if you need anything." She nodded and they left.

"Ok," Jack said slowly."

"General Hammond is going to give SG-4 our next mission."

"SG-4! Those idiots couldn't find their elbows if I asked them to. Why is he doing that?"

"It's my fault, sir. I think he needs some time to figure out what to do." She paused and could tell he was totally lost. "All of my future off-world missions have been cancelled."

"Your off-world missions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why?

"Because, I…" Sam lowered her head. Well, I, uh.."

"Carter, spit it…"

"I'm pregnant!" She spit out.

Suddenly Jack O'Neill's world halted to a stop. His head began to swirl instead and he felt like he might need to sit down or throw up or both.

Once again she started to cry. "I'm so sorry." Unable to look at him any more she bolted from her lab leaving her world behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Some of you were wondering when it all went down. Here's the story. Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

Sam awoke to a gentle knock coming from her front door. It took some extra effort to rise from her comfortable position, but she managed to reach the door before her unexpected guest vanished. She was pleasantly surprised to see Janet on the other side of the door. "Hey!"

"I hope I'm not bothering you."

"You could never bother me, come in." Sam moved over to allow her to enter.

"Well, judging by your hair, I'd bet you were just asleep." Janet smiled as Sam ran her fingers through her hair and gave an embarrassed look.

"Yeah, I was. It just hit me, though. I didn't think I was tired and suddenly I couldn't keep my eyes open so I went to lie down. What time is it, anyway?"

"A little after 6. I brought dinner."

Sam finally noticed Janet was holding a bag full of food. "That sounds amazing!"

"But you don't even know what it is."

"Does it matter?" They laughed.

"No, I guess not. I have a feeling we have a lot to go over. You can consider this your personal doctor's visit."

"Thanks, Janet. I could use someone to talk to right now." The two friends pulled dishes out of cabinets and started making some chicken alfredo. "So, where do we begin?"

"How about we talk about the fact that you're going to be a mom?"

"I haven't thought about it like that. Wow! A mom." Sam smiled, but it slowly faded. "I wasn't' planning on this. Not yet, anyway."

"I know, Sam. But that doesn't matter, now. You can't keep focusing on the bad. You have to think about how to take care of yourself now and how to prepare for this little one." Janet gave Sam a little side hug and stirred the chicken.

"I know all this. It's just harder to put it to work. Besides, I think I'm allowed a few days to wallow in my own misery. It will hit me soon. Kinda like my nap."

"You know, you're going to feel that way a lot more, now. You mentioned a little nausea when you came in this morning. That's going to get worse, too. I'm actually surprised you made it this far. Raw chicken can turn even the strongest stomachs when you're pregnant."

Sam made a face in disgust. "Now that you mention it, it does seem pretty gross." The women shared a smile.

"And don't forget about the sudden urges to go pee. It's made worse by the fact that you have to drink extra water. You'll be minding your own business and bam, you gotta go now, or else!"

Sam quieted. Again she thought about how this came to be. She'd never made such a stupid mistake in her whole life. "I know all these things, but hearing you talk about them makes it all so surreal."

"Don't worry, Sam." Before long the food was ready and they were sitting down to eat.

They ate their meal fairly quietly talking about Cassie and her recent boyfriend. "Don't tell the Colonel." Sam said.

"I wouldn't even dream about it. He'd kill me." Janet looked up to see Sam's head down. "Is something wrong?"

"I told him. About me. It was so hard to do. The look on his face when I said it…it was like I'd shot him or something. I just left him there. I couldn't bare it anymore." A little tear slid down her cheek and she tried to wipe it away.

Janet sighed, picked up her plate and glass and said, "Come on, let's get this cleaned up and we can keep talking." She was no fool and anybody could see that those two cared about each other a lot.

Almost zombie-like Sam stood and cleared her dishes. Janet began filling the sink with soapy water. "I know you're wondering how it happened." Sam's countenance was blank.

"Sam, you don't have to tell me."

She held her hand up to stop her friend. "I need to tell someone." Janet nodded and Sam continued. "I was so angry at him. I couldn't believe he thought we wouldn't come rescue him. It's not like it took us years to bring him back. It was only a few months, but he moved on. How long did it take him to forget us?"

Her question was rhetorical and Janet wondered if Sam really asked, _How long did it take him to forget me?_

"He acted like it was nothing, like it was simply another mission. When he came home he went to the locker room, gave his debriefing and just went home. He hardly said anything to me. So, I left. I went out and got totally drunk. And I knew, the whole time, I knew that what I was doing was wrong and stupid. But I wanted it to finally go away. All the frustration and worry that had built up for 3 months needed to get released. I remember this guy walking into the bar with a couple other friends. It looked like they just wanted to unwind. I was playing pool and I was actually doing kinda bad. So, I gave up and sat down a few tables away. I'd spent the whole night pushing other guys away, but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of that one. Eventually he came over and I simply asked if he wanted to go back to his place." Sam stopped talking then. She rubbed her face with her hands trying to wipe away the memory. "I remember everything. As soon as it was over I left. Janet, I'm so ashamed of myself! How could I have let this happen? "

Janet reached over and hugged Sam. "Honey, we've all made mistakes before. I've made a few myself. I even had my own one night stands."

Sam stepped back . "But you never got pregnant."

"So, it doesn't make it that much worse. Tell me honestly. Do you feel worse about the one night stand or that you're pregnant?"

She thought about that for a minute. "It's hard to differentiate the two now, but I feel more guilty about sleeping with a stranger."

"Don't worry," she said again. "STD tests are standard after you find out you're pregnant. Are you sure there's no way to find out who he was? Do you remember how to get to his house?"

"No, it was a hotel. He was only in town that weekend. I bet he's even married! So stupid!" She started crying again. "And why am I always crying?"

Janet gave a sad smile. "Unfortunately it comes with the territory."

Half an hour later the kitchen was cleaned up and they were sitting on the couch watching a small fire.

"Can I ask you something?" Janet asked.

"Sure, what else do I have to lose?"

"It's not that bad of a question. How come you never went for Daniel?"

"That's easy. He was married when I met him. I met his wife. He never gave up hope of finding her. Of course, he's attractive and he's shaped up nicely since joining SG-1, but I never saw him as anything but my friend. Sha're just died. I'm sure it will take a long time for him to recover and find someone. "

"Not to sound rude or insensitive, but how long do you think that might take?" Sam could see a gleam in Janet's eyes.

"Janet!" Sam exclaimed. "I never would have thought."

"I know. I'm pretty good at hiding it, unlike some people." Sam nudged Janet's arm. "Besides, I can be very patient." They laughed and Sam's worry slowly began to melt away. The rest of the night was spent in comfortable friendship, but Sam dreaded the next time she'd see Jack.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to ebineez01 for allowing me to borrow a bit from their story Day One Hundred and One. Thanks for your reviews and next chapter will be a little more mature ;)

* * *

"Danny, you got a minute?" Jack entered Daniel's office slowly.

"Uh, sure." He wasn't sure whether or not he'd spoken with Sam.

Jack looked nonchalantly around the room trying to stall a bit. "Do you…did she…what just happened?"

"Jack, I think you need to ask her that."

Jack ignored Daniel's attempt at dodging the answer. "I really need some help, Danny." Jack kept his eyes off his friend and picked up one of his doodads scattered around the room.

"Jack, that' a fertility statue."

"How fitting." Jack said as he put it back on the shelf. "Seriously, what just happened?"

Daniel sighed and took his glasses off. "She's pregnant. What more is there?"

"Was it…?" Jack gestured to Daniel fearing the worst.

"NO!" He blurted out; shocked that Jack could possibly think he'd do that.

"Teal'C?" He didn't really think it was possible that either of his best friends knocked up his…his what?

"Jaaack," Daniel warned.

"Well, it wasn't me!" He was out of likely suspects. "I didn't even know she was seeing anyone."

"Look, you really need to talk to her about this."

"Don't go there. I need to let this tiny bit of information sink in before I go and get the juicy details from her."

"But you want the juicy details from me?" Daniel clarified.

"Is that bad?"

Daniel laughed a little as he shook his head, _typical Jack._ "I can't give you any juicy details because I don't have any."

"She didn't tell you who the father was?"

"Not in a manner of speaking, no."

"Daniel, just tell me! Why does everyone take so long to say something?"

"Jack, she had a one night stand."

Again his head started spinning.

"I don't know anything else, I promise." Daniel said.

"Why would she do that?" Jack asked as he sat in the nearest chair and put his head in his hands.

"Oh, I don't know, Jack, you tell me."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"She's gotta be about a month along, now." He said giving Jack time to process the hint.

"So?" It didn't work.

"Jack, how long ago did you return from Edora?"

"I don't know, about 3 weeks?"

"No, Jack, more like 4."

"What difference does that make?"

"Jack, can you tell me what happened after we walked through the Stargate to rescue you?"

"Danny?"

"Humor me."

Jack gave a frustrated sigh and thought for a minute. "Well, we started greeting all the Edorans that evacuated to Earth. You guys explained how it all went down and I said goodbye to Laira. What does this have to do with anything?"

"You can be such an asshole sometimes!" Daniel paced the room knowing he'd have to spell this all out for him. "Jack, who was it that explained everything to you?"

"Carter did."

"And did you hear anything she had to say?"

"I don't know, something about the malp?"

"You walked away right in the middle of the conversation. You just left us standing there."

"Ok, but you haven't answered me. What does this have to do with Carter being…you know?" He didn't want to say the word.

Daniel sighed again. "We missed you, Jack."

"I missed you too."

"But Sam _really_ missed you." Jack lowered his head. No one had ever hinted at the unusual relationship he had with his 2IC. "Jack," Daniel's voice was soft, "Sam didn't leave the base the entire time you were trapped, not even once."

"And I totally screwed it up, didn't I?"

"It was only 3 months. It didn't seem to take you very long to give up on us, on her."

"100 days. It was because of something Laira said, something about giving 100 days to mourn and then moving on. At the time I thought it was right. I was too scared to admit anything to myself and I didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them crushed later down the road."

"Did you sleep with her?"

"Yes, eventually."

"Did you love her?"

"I don't know. At first I was trying to help them rebuild and dig out the Stargate. Being around her gave me something else to think about. Like it was therapy."

"What about Sam?"

"I…I don't know. I guess I pushed her away."

"That's exactly what you did, Jack."

"Did she have to jump into bed with the first guy she came across?"

"No, but what did she have to lose at that point? She probably felt like she'd already lost you."

"I am an asshole, aren't I? I don't know what to do, Daniel."

"You can start by talking to her."

"And what should I say?"

"How about 'I'm sorry for being a total jackass'."

"No, that won't work. I've tried it before." They laughed then.

Daniel's face turned serious again. "Do you love Sam?"

"I'm not supposed to answer that."

"Stop making excuses."

Jack paused briefly. "I probably could have answered that a lot easier 4 months ago. But now, I'm not sure."

"What's changed?"

"Come on, Daniel. I've totally ruined any chance I could have had and now she's…" He trailed off there.

"Say it, Jack."

"She's pregnant with another man's child." Daniel could see how hard it was for Jack to say those words. He was physically hurt by it.

"How is it any worse than what you did? Because there's evidence?"

"Does she know I slept with Laira?"

"I bet she suspects it. She didn't get pregnant on purpose, Jack."

"I know that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It…it should have been me."

Daniel nodded. "So, you're jealous?"

"I guess." The admission came out of nowhere. Jack stood back up and leaned on Daniel's desk.

"Maybe you can think of this as a good thing. Maybe now you can both have what you want?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She's been put on desk duty. You're no longer her commanding officer."

Jack let that sink in. "I guess you're right, Daniel. But where do I go from here?"

"I suggest you go home, get some rest. In the morning you take some flowers, some breakfast, and lay it all out. She can't be angry with you for being honest. I'm sure she's worried about a lot, especially how you're taking all this."

"What would I do without you, Daniel?"

"You'd get lost in translation." They each smiled and Jack gave Daniel a brief hug.

"Thanks, Danny, boy!"


	4. Chapter 4

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of song fics. I usually skim over the lyrics, especially if I'm not familiar with the song. But this one has been stuck in my head for days! I suggest you youtube the music video! It's so fitting! This chapter is hot so you might want a bucket of ice water around to cool you off! Enjoy!

* * *

Jack hopped into his truck and tried to make it home safely. His mind was running all over the place and it would be a pretty bad idea to get into an accident over it. He came to a red light and patiently waited. The song on the radio annoyed him so he changed the channel. Another one was starting and he recognized it immediately. "Good 'ole Vince and Reba."

 _Looking back over the years_

 _Of All the things I've always meant to say_

 _But words didn't come easily_

 _So many times through empty fears_

 _Of all the nights I tried to pick up the phone_

 _So scared of who might be answering_

 _You try to live your life from day to day_

 _But seeing you across the room tonight_

 _Just gives me away_

 _'Cause the heart won't lie_

 _Sometimes life gets in the way_

 _But there's one thing that won't change_

 _I know I've tried_

 _The heart won't lie_

 _You can live your alibi_

 _Who can see you're lost inside a foolish disguise_

 _The heart won't lie_

'Wow,' Jack thought, 'this is so perfect for us.'

 _Long after tonight_

 _Will you still hear my voice through the radio_

 _Old desires make us act carelessly_

 _Long after tonight, after the fire_

 _After the scattered ashes fly_

 _Through the four winds blown and gone_

 _Will you come back to me?_

 _You try to live your life from day to day_

 _But seeing you across the room tonight_

 _Just gives me away_

 _'Cause the heart won't lie_

 _Sometimes life gets in the way_

 _But there's one thing that won't change_

 _I know I've tried_

 _The heart won't lie_

 _You can live your alibi_

 _Who can see you're lost inside a foolish disguise_

 _The heart won't lie_

Jack couldn't believe how perfectly this song fit into their lives. 'I have been living in a foolish disguise. It's time to take a chance.'

A car behind him honked its horn and brought Jack out of his trance. Thankfully he made it all the way home without any more problems.

After picking at his left over take out, he gave up and turned on a hockey game. Hockey has always been good therapy for him and since he left Edora he couldn't get enough of it. Jack has thought about Laira so many times since coming home. He knew it was time to figure it out once and for all. 'I want to be with Carter,' he thought, 'but what about Laira? Do I just ignore what we had?'

Jack cared about Laira, but he knew he didn't love her. Not the way he loved Carter. But Jack had lived behind the military's rules. With Laira he had no rules and it felt good; like a long vacation. Now, it was time to let Laira go.

He turned off the tv after noticing he couldn't remember the last 10 minutes of the game and went to bed.

* * *

"Colonel?" Sam was still bleary-eyed when she opened her front door and saw Jack standing there with a bunch of things in his arms.

"Uh, good morning, Carter." He rocked on his heels. "Can we talk?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea right now."

"Please, I think it's important."

Sam hesitated, weighing her options. Wordlessly she opened the door all the way and allowed him to enter.

Jack finally got a full view of her in her pajamas. She had on some baggy bottoms that were borderline see-through and a tank top that stretched across her breasts. He immediately felt attracted to her. Pushing the creeping thoughts aside he walked straight to her kitchen. "I brought breakfast!"

"Good, I'm starving!"

"It's nothing special, but I know you'll love it! Some fruit salad, pancakes, and…" he held up a little container.

"Blue jell-o?"

"I knew I would win you over."

Sam smiled. It totally melted Jack's heart. He promptly handed Sam her jell-o and a spoon and she dug right in while he warmed up the pre-made pancakes.

"Wow! This is delicious! I'm going to have to make sure I keep my fridge fully stocked of this stuff!"

"I could help with that."

Sam looked at him cautiously. 'What's he getting at?'

As they ate through the stack of pancakes Sam noticed Jack was staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're so beautiful." He said it as though he'd said it to her a million times.

"Excuse me? I just woke up."

Jack stood and pulled Sam up to him. "I've never seen you look so beautiful," he said quietly. Sam's mouth dropped in surprise and Jack seized the opportunity to pull her closer and kiss her. She pulled back in utter shock but he wouldn't release her. "Sam, I need you." His voice had dropped and it sounded heavenly to her. When she didn't move back anymore he kissed her again. This time he turned his head more and intensified the kiss. Sam welcomed the feel of his lips on hers. She parted them slightly and Jack took possession of her upper lip. She focused on the warmth of his bottom lip. It was so smooth and soft she couldn't help let out a little moan. Until that moment their breathing was easy and slow but when Jack's hands went from around her back to cup her face they both began to breathe heavily. He tilted her head for better access, his nose no longer threatening her eye. Once again, Sam released a moan and opened her mouth more. Jack didn't hesitate to invade her mouth completely. She tasted of pancake syrup and it made the experience all that more euphoric. Their tongues danced together exploring their new territories.

When Sam started to feel breathless she grudgingly withdrew. She brought her hands up and entangled herself in his hair. They stood there with their foreheads pressed together and slowly caught their breath, panting slightly. "Sir."

"I think you can call me Jack now." They smiled and shared a small kiss. He started with gentle kisses on her forehead and slowly moved down the side of her face. He engulfed the scent of her strawberry shampoo and it made his knees weaken. "Sam, I'm lost without you." He crept down to her neck brushing his thumb across her exposed collarbone. "Tell me what to do."

Sam could feel his desire searing through her. "Put me back to bed, Jack." He returned his lips to her mouth and his strength was restored. He gripped her under her thighs and swiftly picked her up. She held on to his shoulders and kept her lips joined with his. He was able to make it to her bedroom without bumping into too many walls and they collapsed onto her bed. The morning light flooded the room eliminating them in golden sunshine.

They lay on their sides and Jack's hand skimmed the bare flesh of her arm. Goose bumps appeared and she released a little giggle. He stopped kissing her long enough to say, "no giggling, Carter."

"Oh, it's Carter, now is it?"

Jack growled. "You know what I mean." He kissed her again and moved his hand to her hip slowly pushing her tank top up. The feel of her soft skin caused his heart to explode into a million pieces. His arousal became even more apparent and Sam wrapped her leg around his hip to allow him better contact. Her thin pajama bottoms were no match for his desire. He shifted his hips slightly and his hard dick rubbed her in just the right spot.

"Mmm."

"Sam, you're making this really difficult for me."

"And how am I doing that?" she asked teasingly.

"Because I want to take this slowly. Very slowly. But you're making it impossible."

"You want foreplay?"

"I just want you," he said hungrily. He abandoned her mouth and kissed a line from her chin down to the hollow of her throat. He stayed there for a while enjoying the feel of it. Jack's hand crawled up her body and pulled her shoulder into him. When he'd had his fill of her neck he slowly went further down stopping where her chest started to amplify. Jack paused momentarily to look at Sam for the ok. When she smiled he returned his attention to her creamy flesh. His hand pulled at the little string of her tank top and yanked it down her arm exposing her breast almost completely. Jack gulped. He knew, they both knew, there would be no turning back, now. He dived into her flesh and used his hands to assist his indulgence. Finally he pulled her top down enough to make her hardened nipple pop out from underneath. He wrapped his lips around it and started sucking on it slowly. Sam arched her back into the sensation. He began to gently flick his tongue across the peak. She whimpered at the feeling.

Sam couldn't take it any more and sat up abruptly. Jack was a little worried, but she quickly removed her top completely. "That's better." She lay back down and they both adjusted their positions. Sam was now on her back and he continued on her other breast. She ran her hands through his hair encouraging him to keep going.

Jack traveled to the valley of her chest barely touching the surface. He moved further down her body relishing her firm stomach. He mentally thanked the military for keeping her body just like this. Her pajama bottoms were low across her hips and Jack kept his attention on her skin while softly rubbing between her legs. The fabric was so thin he could feel all her folds. "Jack," she gasped. He sat up and pulled her bottoms and underwear off at the same time. Jack got his first full view of his 2IC in the buff. He drank in the sight before him. Sam let him have his moment, but didn't wait too long before disrobing him as well. She enjoyed looking at her own eye candy.

They returned to the bed and he kept her on her back. Their lips met once again and they spent a few minutes letting their hands wander around the naked flesh. "I love the way you feel," Jack said.

"Me, too," she whispered back.

Jack's hand slid down her body and stopped at her knee. He shifted his body and his lips went to her knee, too. He traced a line very slowly from her knee up to the top of her leg with the slightest touch of his fingers. His lips followed the line he traced stopping just short of her hip. She whimpered again and Jack smiled. Knowing he couldn't tease her forever he touched her where she really wanted it. He slid his fingers up and down her wet flesh and he could smell her arousal rising. Jack used his moistened fingers to tease her clit. She trembled at his touch.

One last time he kissed her inner thigh and turned his attention to her wet center. He placed one finger at her opening, waiting for her to respond. She rolled her hips slightly inviting him in. Jack happily obliged. He dipped one finger into her warmth. Sam released the breath she had been holding and clenched her core instead. He felt her muscles wrap around his finger and he curled it slightly pulling out once, twice. The third time he dipped a second finger and Sam nearly liquefied. Jack continued to pleasure her until he couldn't wait another second to taste her. He pulled his fingers out and brought his mouth to her center. They both moaned at the same time. Jack grasped her hip to hold her in place as he enjoyed her. She tried to squirm and buck but Jack was stronger. It only made her arousal heighten. He used his free hand to continue penetrating her and teased her clit with his tongue until he felt her tense and she groaned as she came. Jack waited until she calmed down and he softly drank her goodness.

"That was amazing!" she gasped.

"You're amazing!"

"I hope you don't mind if I just lay here while you finish me off completely." She had her eyes closed but a wide smile was across her face.

"I can wait for you to recuperate!" He held himself over her and looked at her. She opened her eyes. They were filled with hunger.

"No, Jack. I want you."

"Works for me!" They smiled. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"It's too late for regrets."

"No regrets, ever again, Sam. I love you."

"I love you," she said. He kissed her. His hips started rocking involuntarily. "Jack," she broke off, "take me." She wrapped her legs around his hips and he adjusted his position to enter her. Again, they moaned together as she felt him dive deep inside. He stopped once he was all the way in enjoying the sensations coursing through his body. Slowly he withdrew and went back in. Sam raised her hips to match his thrusts. Together they built up speed and Jack knew he was close.

"Sam," he managed to say.

"Jack!" she moaned.

"No, Sam! I'm…"

"Don't stop, Jack!"

"Sam!" he yelled as a powerful release flooded him. He collapsed next to her, both of their hearts pounding. Once they were off their high they curled into each other's arms and fell asleep easily.


	5. Chapter 5

When Jack woke up he was slow to open his eyes. The feelings from before were still on his mind and he didn't want them to stop. But he knew he couldn't wait for forever and he wanted to see Sam. They had spent many nights in tents over the last 3 years and waking up next to her got better each time. Reluctantly he peeled one eye open. His vision was blurry and it took a long time for his eyes to adjust to the light peeking through the windows. All at once his vision was clear and his other eye opened immediately. Jack was surprised to find himself in his own bed and still fully clothed. "Oh for cryin out loud!" He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes to try to make his reality go back to his dream but it was futile. "Stupid dream!"

Jack grunted as he got out of bed. All of yesterday's events came back to his memory like a tidal wave. He was angry and confused and frustrated. He stared at his reflection in the bathroom window. He must have slept really well because there were creases from the pillow case very noticeable going down his face. That dream was mind-blowing. He just wished it was it was true; at least the part where Sam wasn't mad at him.

Jack sighed and began brushing his teeth. His thoughts remained on the dream. He went over every detail. As he spit and rinsed he realized something, 'she wasn't pregnant in the dream'. 'That could mean anything,' Jack thought. 'What difference does it make? How am I supposed to woo her, now?'

He jumped into the shower and forced himself to not think about the dream.

* * *

Sam awoke with a disquieting sensation. She made it to the bathroom just in time. The remaining remnants of her dinner with Janet swirled around the toilet. It wasn't much but she was surprised there was anything left in there. Sam flushed it away and cleaned up. Even though she had just vomited her stomach begged for replenishment. Luckily Janet also brought a box of saltines and some carbonated water. She said it would help with any queasiness. She sat at the table and slowly chewed while reading the latest Science Magazine. She didn't often find time for light reading but figured she'd have plenty now. Sam felt a little depressed knowing she'd never go through the gate again. Talking with Janet made her feel more excited about being a mom but not quite enough to take away all her fears.

General Hammond sent her an email saying her hours had been reduced. It wasn't a big difference but an extra hour in the morning and afternoon gave her a little longer to sleep or to simply rest. She walked into her lab feeling like everyone in the mountain knew she was pregnant. Sam knew it was just her imagination and that it would be impossible for everybody to know already. She had only found out yesterday and she only told her closest friends. It would soon become obvious, though. They would start to wonder why SG-1 got a new team member. They would see that she was no longer going through. It wouldn't take an astrophysicist to see her belly would start to grow.

Sam thought about the little baby growing inside of her. A one in a billion miracle was happening to her. She smiled and placed her hand on her lower abdomen. 'Just you and me, now,' she thought.

"Knock, knock."

Pulled from her contemplations she looked up quickly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." It was Daniel.

"No, it's ok. I got lost in my own head."

"Need a map?"

She smiled. "How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine. I was just catching up on some reading. Seems I have a little bit of time on my hands. How are you?"

Sam sighed. "I'm ok. I'm sorry I grounded the team."

"No, don't worry. It'll probably do us some good to relax, kick back, or do some paperwork. Teal'C left this morning. He's going to spend some time with his family. He'll be back in a few days."

"What about Colonel O'Neill?" She silently hoped he, too, had taken a few days off.

"Uh, he's here. Somewhere."

Sam thought for a moment. She cleared her throat to stop whatever sound was trying to escape from it. "Uh, ok. Thanks."

"Actually, I wanted to see if you had plans for lunch."

"No, I though I'd just get something from the mess hall and bring it back here. I'd hate to find something doesn't agree with me and hurl all over the floor in front of everyone."

Daniel knew she would do that to avoid seeing Jack. "Well, I could keep you company."

"That sounds great. Thanks, Daniel. Would it be ok if I invited Janet, too?"

"Of course! The more, the merrier!"

"Well, I should probably get back to pretending I have work to do."

Daniel laughed. "Sure. I'm in the same boat. I'll see you at lunch."

He started to leave. "Daniel, could you shut the door?"

He thought for a second about what that really meant. He figured it had something to do with Jack. Daniel nodded and as he closed the door he added, "You know, you can't avoid him for forever."

Sam knew he was right, but it didn't mean she had to see him right now. She'd wait as long as she could.

* * *

 **A/N** I got you, didn't i? Sorry. I'll take suggestions on what to do next. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** See what happens when I have nothing to do? 2 chapters in one day. The next one will have to wait 'til later, though!

* * *

Jack managed to go about his business on base without running into Sam that day. Since Teal'C was gone he managed to avoid his whole team with exception for Daniel verifying an event for one of his mission journals. He learned a couple of years ago that Daniel managed to write down everything they did. If that information ever got in the wrong hands it would make for some very interesting reading.

He found himself thinking about Sam a little too much, though. His dream dominated most of those thoughts and the rest of them focused around Sam's baby. He still couldn't believe it. He thought about what she might look like with her belly stretched to its limit. The image he came up with was beautiful. He really enjoyed looking at Sarah when she was pregnant. Knowing he had helped create that life gave him such joy and pride. Sarah was radiant during that time. Jack brushed the past away. He repeated the phrase he'd perfected throughout these last 4 years to prevent him from going down the dark path he once faced. "I can't change the past but I can change my future."

Jack sat at home alone like he did every night. He stared at the wall while his brain returned to Edora. Mostly about when he realized he could go back home. Hearing Teal'C's voice through the radio had filled him with exhilaration. Jack knew that Earth was where he belonged. For a time he doubted that, but he knew now that that moment was all he needed to confirm it. Jack wasn't really sure why he invited Laira to come back, too. Maybe it was just manners; being polite so she wouldn't feel abandoned. He had promised to go back. They hadn't just yet. He didn't forget that promise, but he never made plans to fulfill it. Silently he pledged to return soon.

As Jack returned to the present he came up with a brilliant plan; one that would get him what he wanted most.

* * *

"Hey!"

"Hi."

"Thanks for coming by. I'm afraid of being alone with myself." Sam let Daniel in they hugged.

"Anytime! I'm glad to have some company, too." They sat down in the living room and Sam curled up on one end of the couch facing Daniel.

"So, were you able to finish that paper?" After they ate lunch earlier Daniel said he wanted to write another dissertation about the pyramids, specifically the pyramids in South America.

"Uh, almost. I just need a few more paragraphs about the gods they worshipped. I'm close to finding something about Osiris. It's looking like I'll never get anything done, though."

"Don't worry, it will happen."

"Thanks, Sam."

A moment of silence passed. "Daniel, can I ask you some personal questions?"

"About what?" His curiosity was heightened.

"Sha're." Sam was worried it would be too hard for him.

"Oh, sure. What would you like to know?"

"It's not too hard to talk about her?"

"No, I like to. I never get to talk about her with anyone. I think you're all afraid I'll break down or something. The truth is, I want to remember her. I want to let the world know how wonderful she was." Daniel smiled at the memory of his wife.

Sam smiled, too. "I didn't know. You can always tell us stuff, Daniel. We've all lost people and it's good to let it out, sometimes."

"So?" He was still waiting for a question from her.

"Tell me how you met her."

"But you've heard that story."

"I know, tell me again!"

Daniel sighed. "Ok. We had arrived at the Abydonian village earlier that day and they invited us to dinner. It was strange to say the least. There was this large armadillo looking thing. The team made me eat first since I was telling them to not be rude. It wasn't bad, tasted a little like chicken. The moonshine, though, that stuff was awful. I gave them pointers later. The stuff Jack drank when you all came back was actually a prank. I knew it would be hilarious. I'm sorry, by the way."

"Yeah, right."

"Anyway, we were all sitting around trying to break the language barrier when we heard a huge commotion behind us. The crowd parted and I saw the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Way out of my league, I might add. Turns out she was a gift for me. I never understood why they chose me, though."

"You were making the most effort to learn their ways."

"I suppose. I tried to turn them down, but that was an even bigger insult. So, Sha're and I sat in the tent talking. She was the one that showed me the ruins where the rest of their history was. We finally figured out the dialect problem. Jack didn't believe me that I couldn't understand them before that. After the war and after we took down Ra I decided to stay."

"Do you still think that was the best thing to do?"

"Absolutely! I would give my right arm to live among a civilization like that. Practically our own history right in front of my face."

"Plus, now you had a wife."

"You know, I didn't try to sleep with her. I waited for her to be ready. I was in love with her from that first night. It took her about a month."

"That's so sweet, Daniel. Why didn't you two start having kids?"

"Well, we weren't trying and we weren't not trying. We knew, or thought we knew, that they'd come along eventually. Our cultures were so different we were basically getting to know each other." Daniel went quiet. Sam thought maybe she'd pushed too far. "I wonder if things would have turned out differently if she was already a mother. Maybe she would have stayed home that day."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked…"

"No, its ok, really. Now that I think about it, what would have happened to Earth if we hadn't gone after them? Would we even have the same SGC?"

"I guess we'll never know that," Sam said. They sat in comfortable silence, both thinking about the life the have had. Finally Sam asked, "Daniel, have you thought about seeing anyone else."

"Sort of. I don't think I'm quite ready, yet. The Abydonians have a custom I think I might stick to. They mourn their loved ones for a year. Then they celebrate life and love. I knew many of them that had lost loved ones. Either they had died from this or that or they were taken by Ra before he died. Some of them remarried. Some didn't. She'll be with me, always, but when the time comes I'll know." Suddenly Daniel thought of something. "Why did you ask me that?"

Sam thought of playing coy and pretending she didn't know what he was talking about, but thought better of it. "I just thought maybe I had a suggestion."

"Who?"

"Tell you what, when the time comes you tell me, and I'll tell you."

Daniel pondered on that. "Deal."

Sam sat up and stretched. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Ya think? How about I whip us up something."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to, really. Believe it or not, you made me feel a lot better." They both stood and Sam moved closer and gave Daniel a hug.

"You made me feel better, too."


	7. Chapter 7

So, I completely forgot that Sam wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant because of Jolinar. We're all just gonna have to ignore that little bit of info.

* * *

The week was finally over and Sam had looked forward to sleeping in on Saturday. Her hope was to catch up on years of sleep deprivation. Unfortunately she had forgotten to turn off her alarm the night before and was unable to get completely back to sleep. She stayed in bed, determined to rest at least. As 8:30 rolled around she finally decided to get up and make some breakfast. Cold cereal had been her friend and it was one of few things that could settle her stomach. For years she had avoided the sugary stuff afraid it would add inches and miles of running to her life. Now she didn't care. Sam had picked up some chocolate marshmallow cereal the other day and she was preparing to dive into a second bowl when the doorbell rang.

Sam grumbled, sad that she couldn't indulge, and went to the door. She was shocked to see Jack on through the peephole. She took a deep breath. Sam had not seen him since earlier in the week when she had revealed her pregnancy to him. She pressed her head against the door unsure of whether she could avoid him any longer. He rang the doorbell again making Sam jump. After another deep breath she attempted to fix her hair and opened the door just enough to hide half of her body behind it.

"Good morning, Sir." She tried to keep her tone flat not wanting to reveal her fear at seeing him again.

Jack could see right through her farce. He knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. "Good morning, Carter."

Sam waited for him to explain why he had shown up so unexpectedly but Jack kept quiet. "Is there something you need, Sir?"

"Uh, I came to see you, to see how you were doing. Mind if I come in?"

"I'm not sure that's a great idea."

Jack felt a sense of déjà vu. "Please, I'd really like to talk to you." He could see her thinking about it, weighing her options.

Sam finally nodded and let him in. She walked back towards the kitchen letting him close the door and follow her. "I've just finished some cereal. Would you like some?"

"Uh, no, thanks. I'm good." Jack began wandering around her living room. He didn't say anything for a while. Sam put away her breakfast, still feeling a little hungry. She would have to wait until he left to eat more. When she was done she joined him in the living room. Neither of them sat. He turned to face her and thought she looked pretty adorable in her pajamas. His dream was mostly on point, baggy bottoms and a tight t-shirt. Even in his cargo shorts he felt over dressed. It took him a few more minutes to finally speak. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Short answers were unusual from her and they both knew it.

"No morning sickness?" Jack thought about Sarah and how difficult it was for her to keep anything down.

"Not very much. Some nausea, but I know what to stay away from."

Jack nodded and went quiet again. He looked at the floor and said, "I realized I never congratulated you. I'm sorry." He looked up trying to make eye contact with her but it was difficult for him. "Congratulations, Sam."

She felt a knot grow in her stomach but it had nothing to do with the baby. She knew how he felt and it hurt her as well. "Thank you, Sir," she said quietly. The tension in the room was growing. Sam worried about which direction this little visit would go.

Jack turned away from her and gripped the fireplace mantle. "I… uh…" Jack cleared his throat. "I just want to know…"

Sam could see the struggle he was having with himself. It looked like he was trying not to cry. She was afraid of what he was trying to ask. She swallowed her own feelings.

"I just want to know," he began again, "why." He finished almost inaudibly.

Sam was slightly confused. "Why what, Sir?"

"Carter, don't play with me." His voice was more edgy and it worried Sam.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't understand your question. Why what?" Her tone was beginning to match his.

He looked at her again and clenched his fists. "How could you?"

"Excuse me?" She finally understood and it enraged her. "Are you blaming me for getting pregnant? Like I planned it, did it on purpose? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, Carter. I leave for a few months and you jump into bed with a stranger."

She knew Daniel had told him. "How dare you? What right do you have to say that to me after what you did!"

"What did I do? It wasn't my fault I got stranded there!"

"No, but you certainly didn't waste any time giving up on us finding you!"

"I thought the damn thing had blown up! What was I supposed to do?"

She threw her hands in the air. "Oh, I don't know, figure out that we'd find you somehow. A ship, maybe?"

"You think I didn't try? Even though I thought it was gone I still tried to dig it out."

"For how long?" she spat. "A day?"

"No!"

"I bet it took all of 2 seconds for you to forget me and shack up with her." She hadn't planned on going down that road. Her eyes widened regretting what she had said. She didn't want him to know she cared about him.

"Is that what you're mad about? Laira?"

That named made her blood boil. Her emotions were uncontrollable at this point. Between the pregnancy and the argument they were finally having she couldn't hold it all in anymore. Sam began to cry. It was almost unnoticeable at first. "Of course, you think it's all about her. You get to run around like the perfect bachelor hooking up with whomever you choose."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're so good at forgetting, right? I'd love to remind you about a certain someone named Kynthia."

"That was not my fault!"

"I'm sure it was really difficult to push her away, wasn't it, _Sir_." She used his honorific term with disdain.

It was a cheap shot and they both knew it.

"And what about Martouf, huh? Talk about a free ride. You get to hide behind a snake to get a few kicks!"

Sam was completely shocked. Finally she said, "I think you should leave now."

"Dammit, Carter, I didn't come here to argue with you. I wanted to…"

"Get out." She could no longer hide the fact that she was crying. Tears flowed down her cheeks like rivers. She was beginning to lose all faculties.

Jack came closer to her. He was ashamed with how he behaved and seeing her cry ripped his heart apart. He raised his hands to her face to wipe away the tears, "Sam, I'm sor…"

She smacked his hands away. "I said get out!"

Jack knew it was useless. He sighed and left.

Sam collapsed on the couch. She cried until there was nothing left in her.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack left Sam's house completely disappointed in himself. He immediately called Daniel. "Sam needs you. Can you take care of her?"

"Jack, what did you do?"

He groaned before giving a few details about the misunderstanding with Carter. He felt better knowing his friend would be there with Sam.

* * *

On Monday morning General Hammond called Walter into his office. "Will you call up Major Carter and ask her to see me as soon as she comes in. There's no need for her to come in early, though."

"Yes, General," Walter said as he left the room.

Sam got the message and was a bit curious as to what the General wanted. Nevertheless, she showed up at his office at 9 am sharp. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Major, sit down. I'll be with you in one moment." General Hammond picked up his phone. "Walter, can you ask Dr. Jackson and Colonel O'Neill to come to the briefing room?" Sam got very nervous about seeing Jack after their little fight on Saturday. He hung up the phone and turned back to Sam. "Now, I wanted to talk to you before bringing in the rest of SG1. I have some good news for you. I've gotten permission from the president to make you leader of your own research team! You'll be head of all things pertaining to the Stargate's technology. You'll also be secondary for any new technology brought from the off world missions. I want you to understand that you are not to get involved with any technology until it has been deemed perfectly safe with out any question as to it's purpose."

"I understand, General."

"You may begin choosing your own teams dedicated to these two departments at your earliest convenience. However, you will have second pick. If Colonel O'Neill chooses someone for his team you will have to make another choice."

"Yes, sir." Sam felt a little angry at getting second choice, but understood why completely. Off world teams are essential for everyone's safety.

"I assume that you've told the rest of your team?" Sam nodded. "Very well, let's go join the others." General Hammond and Sam stood and went into the briefing room. Sam avoided Jack's gaze and sat in her usual chair next to him. Jack and Daniel were both curious as to why they were here and especially why Sam was just in the General's office. "Thank you for coming. I've gathered you all together to discuss the changes in SG-1. Dr. Jackson, I'm going to ask you to relay everything we discuss to Teal'C. He is due to return in 2 days and we have a team preparing to leave in a few hours to drop off some more supplies to Chulak. Will you please join them?"

"Sure!"

"Thank you. First, as you all know Major Carter is no longer authorized to go off world. She will still play an important roll in this command. Major Carter has been assigned as lead scientist pertaining to gate technology and any new technology we acquire from off world!"

"Congratulations, Sam!" Daniel said.

"Thank you." Sam blushed a little. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack give her a congratulatory nod. She gave a small smile in thanks to him.

The General continued. "Second, Colonel O'Neill, you need to find a 4th team member…"

Jack interrupted him. "I'm sure we can manage."

"You had no problem putting your own team together 3 years ago, I assume you can do it again. I insist you have a fourth member. You may chose anyone from our current SG personnel or you can suggest anyone with clearance."

"Yes, sir." He clearly wasn't happy about it.

"Until then, you, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'C have permission to join any team on any mission. Are there any questions?"

"No." Daniel said.

"Nada," chimed Jack.

"Dismissed." With that Jack and Sam stood as General Hammond left the room. She immediately went to her office.

Daniel gave Jack a puzzled look. He was upset for Sam. He knew Jack just wanted to talk to her on Saturday, but it turned ugly. "Are you going to do anything about that, Jack?"

"I'm working on it, Danny. Trust me."

Daniel left, leaving Jack in the room alone. He took a deep breath and went to the General's office. "Is there a problem, Colonel?"

"In a manner of speaking, sir. I'm worried about Major Carter. Forgive me for questioning your command, but are you sure she will be safe working around all those doohickies?"

"Yes, Colonel. She and I have discussed her role. She knows to stay away from anything new or questionable. Believe me, her safety is my utmost concern."

Jack felt better, but knew Sam would push her boundaries on more than one occasion. "There's something else I'd like to discuss, Sir. Mostly her reputation."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You see, General. Pretty soon everyone will know exactly why Major Carter is no longer part of SG1. I'd like to think I could help."

"How?"

"I was thinking I could let everyone assume it's mine."

"That would be against regulations and just saying that would force me to court marshal you. No one would let me let you get away with it. If anyone outside of this facility were to hear that they would use it against us and shut us down. There are plenty of people willing to let this very expensive project go."

"But isn't there anything we could do? Talk to the president. Get permission!"

"It's not that easy, Colonel. I've got to use my connections as best as I can. Unfortunately this wouldn't qualify. Besides, don't you think her reputation would be more tarnished if everyone thought she had slept with her CO?"

Jack hadn't thought about it that way. "Not to me."

General Hammond could see the pain his friend was going through. He sighed. "Let me make a few phone calls and I'll see what I can do."

"I really appreciate that, Sir." Jack left and worked on the next part of his plan. Luckily the base had a nice flower shop and he arranged for a classic bouquet to be delivered to Sam while she was supposed to be at lunch. He thought himself clever to enlist Daniel's help before he left for Chulak. He hoped the groveling would win him a few points.

Next he tried to distract himself with a pile of files suggested by General Hammond for his 4th team member. 'No women,' he thought to himself. 'I've had enough problems with that.'

Two hours later Jack was no closer to finding a replacement for Sam. At the very least he had significantly dwindled the pile. He had gone through every file of every current SGC team and he couldn't find anyone right for him. Jack knew he would miss Sam even more now. He was just opening another file when he heard a knock at the door.

Daniel was carrying his usual pack indicating he was almost leaving. "Jack, I just wanted to stop by before I left. I went with Sam to get lunch and when we came back to her office the roses were there."

"Wonderful! Did she say anything?" Jack couldn't hide his hope.

"I could tell it helped, but I'm not sure how much."

"Did she read the card?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"I don't know, she didn't smile or anything but it looked like she liked it."

"Excellent." Jack imitated Monty Burns.

"I gotta go. We'll be back on Wednesday afternoon."

"Have fun! Oh, and Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for all the great reviews! I hope this helps...

* * *

By the time Friday night rolled around both Jack and Sam had completed their teams. Sam was looking forward to a quiet night at home hanging out with Janet. She already knew the men had their own night planned and was grateful to have someone, too.

"So, he's sent you flowers every day this week?"

"Yes! Different kinds each day. I'm glad they've come with vases or else I'd have no where to put them."

Janet smiled. "Which one is your favorite?"

"Uhm, I like this purple one here." She walked over to a bunch in a purple vase with lavender roses, purple carnations, and daisies. "But the card from the first day was my favorite!

"He sent cards each day, too?"

Sam bit her lip trying to hide a smile. "Yes."

"Can I read it?"

Sam thought for a minute. "Ok." She handed it to Janet.

 _If I had a time machine, I would go back in time and punch myself in the stomach. That way I could make myself feel the pain of regret before I did something stupid to hurt you. I am a jerk for hurting you and I don't know how you could forgive me, but I care about you too much to not try. Please forgive me._

"Sam, he's trying so hard."

"I know. I also know I shouldn't have done what I did. I need to stop being angry with him. It's easier said than done. But these have certainly helped." Sam looked around the room. The flowers were so beautiful and it made her house smell amazing.

"Maybe you should call him."

"Can't I milk this a little longer?"

Janet smiled. "I think it's been long enough."

"You're right. But I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning."

"Deal. Now, how have you been feeling?"

"A lot better! I know what food to stay away from and I can make it through my day without throwing up."

"That's good! What about exercise?"

"On Monday I signed up for a prenatal yoga class. I've never done yoga before. It's kinda challenging." Sam scrunched her face in surprise.

"It is. Who knew it could be so hard to hold your own body up?" They laughed.

"I know! Some of those positions, though, if I weren't fully clothed I could have exposed myself to everyone in the room. Luckily, we're all in the same positions."

"It'll be good for your body. And it'll be really good for your sex life!"

"Janet! You are terrible! Is that all you think of?"

Janet just shrugged and smiled.

"Have you told your dad, yet?"

"No, he was kinda just here and it's always so hard to get messages to him. He won't be happy about it."

"I know, Sam. But I'm sure he'll be fine once the shock wears off."

Sam nodded. "Me too. It helps knowing Selmak is on my side. I may not have to say very much. By the time he shows up I might be as big as a whale!"

"You're only 7 weeks now. He could show up sooner."

"I was trying to be optimistic, Janet." She smiled.

"Did you ever imagine we'd have this kind of life? I mean, we're traveling to the other side of the galaxy! We know people with symbiotes living inside of them. I have a daughter from another planet!"

"It was always a dream of mine to go into space one day, but this totally tops it!"

"Have you thought about what you'll do after the baby is born?"

"I try not to. I think I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. I don't like making decisions I can't stick to, so I'll just make it when I know for sure."

"That's a good plan."

Sam thought back on the argument with Jack. "You know, he accused me of sleeping with Martouf."

"I'm sorry, Sam. It wasn't hard to see you two had a bond."

"That's because of Jolinar. I couldn't control my feelings."

"But you still felt something for Martouf."

"Not enough to sleep with him."

"You and Jack both said things that shouldn't have been said. You have to fight fair."

"I know." Sam pouted.

"Come, on. I know someplace that has amazing blue Jell-0." Janet stood and grabbed her purse.

"I thought we weren't going anywhere. I'm not really dressed."

"Trust me, Sam. A little fresh air will do us both some good."

"Fine!"

20 minutes later they parked along the curb in a quiet streets filled with old shops. They got out and Sam followed Janet into an old diner. "This place has been here for 15 years! I come here with Cassie sometimes."

"It's not bad. I've never been here before."

"That's because it's my secret weapon. I bring people here when they've had a really bad day. I always recommend the apple pie, but the blue jell-o is just as amazing!

* * *

Unfortunately Sam woke up Saturday morning feeling sick from eating so much at the diner the night before. She kept her food down, but didn't rush into eating her breakfast. She waited until it was after 10 to work up the courage to call Jack.

"Hello?"

"Uh, good morning, Sir."

"Carter, is that you?"

"Yes."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Do I have to be in trouble in order for me to call you?"

"Well, no, but I haven't really heard from you in a while. You caught me off guard."

Sam panicked. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have called."

"No! I'm, uh, glad you did. So, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Sir. How are you?"

"Fine." Neither of them said anything for a minute. Unbeknown to the other they were both pacing the floors in their homes. "Riveting conversation, Carter."

"Right, well I just wanted to say hi, I guess."

"You called me out of the blue to say 'hi'?"

"Well, no. You see, I called to thank you."

"I see."

"For the flowers. They're beautiful. All of them."

"I'm glad you like them."

"And I called to apologize." Her last word almost faded completely.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said I called to apologize." She finally said.

"Ah, well, thank you."

"I was completely out of line when you tried to talk to me last week."

"I shouldn't have behaved that way, either. And I'm sorry, too."

Again they both went quiet. Sam couldn't think of anything else to say so she decided to say goodbye. "Ok, then. I guess I'll see you…"

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Sir?"

Jack knew from the sound of her voice that he had surprised her. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"Uh, no."

"Good, I mean, uh, would you like to get dinner with me?"

"Dinner? Like a date?"

"No, unless you want it to be."

Sam couldn't believe her ears. Her CO, well, her former CO was asking her out. "I…I don't…"

"That's ok, Carter. I don't want to bother you."

"No, Sir!" she said abruptly. She stopped before she sounded too crazy. "I do want to. I just wasn't expecting that."

"Ah, well, in that case I'll come get you around 6. I thought we'd head out to O'Malley's."

"Sounds good, Sir." They finished their conversation and Sam sat down on her bed. She was completely baffled that he just asked her to dinner. He had given her the choice of making it a date or not. There weren't that many factors that made a difference between dinner with friends and a date. But she was nervous nonetheless. As she sat there thinking she thought about the week she'd had. She had been surrounded by babbling scientists, yet she had felt so alone. She missed her team. She missed Jack.


	10. Chapter 10

As Sam got ready to go out with Jack she realized she had a problem! She called her friend immediately. "Janet! I need your help!"

"Why, Sam? What's wrong?" Janet had thought the worst.

"Oh! It's nothing. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that I have a problem and I'm not really sure what I should do about it."

"Ok," Janet said slowly.

"You see, I'm going out tonight, in about an hour, actually, and I was just getting dressed when I noticed none of my regular bras fit! I've been wearing sports bras for a couple of weeks but my regular ones are all too tight! I must have grown somehow." Sam's was clearly distraught.

Janet laughed. "Oh, Sam! It's natural! Your body is going to change a lot more than that."

"Oh! I didn't realize it would start so soon."

"This is just hormones. Wait a few more months and you might actually start leaking milk."

"That's awful! What do I do?"

"Are you going out with Colonel O'Neill, by chance?" Janet didn't really need Sam to answer that. She knew all about it.

"Uh…maybe."

"Well, you tell me your regular bra size and I'll go buy you a few to try. Finish getting ready. I'll be there soon."

45 minutes later Sam heard a knock at her front door. She panicked! At first she thought it might be Jack coming to get her earlier than he planned. Then Sam remembered Janet was coming. She nearly ran to the door. "Oh, I'm so glad it's you! I was afraid it was the Colonel."

"Come on, let's hurry up." Janet followed Sam to her room to help her pick out a good bra. "Unfortunately your wardrobe will be all about comfort for a long time. You'd better get used to looking a little less sexy."

"Why do I need to give up looking sexy? I've seen some pretty nice maternity clothes lately."

"Yeah, but does it look comfortable? Sexy will be the last thing on your mind." Janet thought for a second. "Are you trying to impress Colonel O'Neill?"

Sam turned bright red. "I…no! But…I…"

"Sure, whatever! What are you going to wear tonight?"

Sam picked up her outfit on her bed. It's just a normal blouse with a pair of dark jeans. Nothing fancy." She put them back down. "I like this bra. It's comfortable, it fits, and it's pretty."

Janet raised an eyebrow and couldn't hold her smile back. "Will anyone else be seeing this pretty bra tonight?"

"Janet! You have such a dirty mind! This is _not_ a date!"

"How long did it take you to find something to wear?"

"I don't have to answer that." Sam pulled her jeans on.

"Sam?"

"Alright, about an hour." She put her shirt on and straightened her hair.

"If you didn't care you wouldn't have tried so hard."

Sam's mood shifted from excited to serious. "I just don't want to do anything wrong. I don't want to ruin what we have."

"Look, I know the Colonel cares about you and you're going to be ok. Just have fun tonight and don't worry about all the details. You two have spent enough time together to not have first date jitters."

"It's not a date!" Both women jumped as Sam's doorbell chimed. "He's here!"

"You go. I'll pretend I'm not here and I'll lock up after you leave."

Sam hugged Janet, grabbed her shoes and jacket and went to the door. She tried to remind herself it was just dinner with a friend. "Hi," she said as she opened the door.

"Hey. Ready?"

"Uh, yeah." She was taken back once she saw him. It felt like a really long time since she had seen him even though it was only a week ago. He was wearing blue jeans and a blue long sleeved shirt. He had left the top button unbuttoned and it fit him really well. She was happy that their clothes weren't too dressy. She started to step outside.

"Wait, I brought you something." He had been holding something behind his back. Sam was surprised to see a single white rose.

"Sir, uhm, thank you!"

"It's just a little more of a peace offering."

"I should go put it in some water. Why don't you come in?"

Jack nodded then followed Sam to her kitchen. He was filled with pride as he saw his other peace offerings placed around her living room. "You look nice! I wanted to talk with you for a minute before we leave, too. That way you can kick me out if you need to."

Sam tried to sneak a peek down her hall to see if Janet was there, but turned before he caught her. "About what?"

"I just wanted to apologize again, in person. I didn't mean to be such an idiot last week and especially after you rescued me." Jack knew he had to use those last few words to help butter her up. "I should have had more faith in you."

Sam was quiet. "I'm sorry, too. I don't know what came over me."

"I might have a little idea, but you have to promise not to get mad at me."

Sam glared at Jack but decided to bite the bullet. "Ok."

"It's the hormones. They can turn the sweetest person into a tiger!"

Sam thought about why he would know that and felt a little jealous of Sarah. "I guess I'd better get used to it. They're already affecting everything about me."

Jack noticed she had changed moods. "We should get going."

She took a deep breath and brought herself out of her little funk. "Yeah, let's go."

He opened her front door and closed it after they stepped out then opened the car door for her. Sam was trying to act casual but he was being so nice. She had to be very careful. 'This is not a date,' She told herself.

He started the car and she put her hand on his arm. "Wait."

"What is it?" Jack was worried.

"Sir, I really appreciate everything but this is just dinner between friends, right?"

"Of course, Carter." 'Liar,' he told himself. "Just hangin out." He put the car in gear and then said, "Hey, is that Fraser's car?"

Without even looking she said, "It must be one of my neighbors. They make a lot of those, you know."

Later

They'd already eaten their appetizers and were waiting for their dinners when Jack said, "I've got my 4th team member."

"Really, who?"

"A new guy. I couldn't find anyone as perfect as you from the current personnel so I had to look outside the mountain. He's a former seal, spent some time in Afghanistan, but he's remained active since leaving the seal's for a little desk duty. He said he needed a little change, but now he's ready to take on some enemies. He hasn't officially gotten the job. On Monday I'm gonna show him around, and meet him face to face. I need to get a feel for him."

"You gotta be careful with the seal's. They can be kinda crazy."

"I know. That's why I want to meet him first."

Sam nodded. "I got both of my teams together, too."

"Two teams?"

"Yeah, one for working with all the computer systems and the other is engineers for technology."

"Wow! I only had to pick one guy. How did you manage to find that many?"

"I knew most of them already. Siler will be an unofficial team member since he's pretty good at a lot of things. I just hope I'll be a good leader."

Jack gently touched her hand. "Of course you will be. I've seen you do some incredible things."

Sam didn't believe him entirely. She just nodded. Their main course arrived and they both enjoyed the delicious food. When Sam was about half way through her grilled chicken and loaded potato she looked at Jack. "Sir, can I ask you something?"

"Famous last words."

She gave a little smile. "Do you still love Sarah?"

"What?" He was so surprised by her question he nearly choked on his steak.

"I'm just curious."

"That's not really fair, Carter."

"It's ok, Sir, you can be honest. I swear I won't hold it against you."

"Hmm," Jack stared at Sam while he thought. "Well, yes. I do. But I love her because she is Charlie's mother. I love her because we spent 12 wonderful years together. I love her because she's a good person. Those things will never change."

"So, then why didn't you stay together?"

Jack wiped his mouth with his napkin and took a drink of water. "After Charlie died we were both lost. She seemed to recover a lot quicker than I did. I had a very hard time."

"Daniel told me."

Jack felt the shame of his old thoughts returning. He cleared his throat not wanting to let it back in. "You know what saved me?"

"I have a pretty good idea." She wasn't allowed to say the word 'Stargate' off base. There were way too many ears around.

"Sarah and I just never recovered. When I came back from Abydos we really tried. It just didn't work. We had both changed too much."

Sam nodded and took another bite.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not _in_ love with her."

"It's none of my business. I'm sorry I brought it up." She felt like she was getting too personal. Jack's old life stayed in the past. He never willingly brought it up.

"Carter. It's ok. I don't want to be with her."

Sam kept her eyes on her dinner.

"There's someone else I want to be with, though."

She couldn't find the strength to keep her eyes on her food. They seemed to move themselves to look at Jack. If you could have seen straight through to her soul you would see hope shining through like sunbeams bursting through the clouds.

Jack saw that her mind was racing. He continued, "But I don't think Teal'C feels the same way."

It took her a second longer to realize he had been kidding. Once it dawned on her she laughed and finally gave a real smile.

"Ah hah! I've been waiting a very long time to see that!"

Again, Sam was blushing. She tried to hide her embarrassment but it was all in vain. Both of their smiles remained on their faces for the rest of the night.

When Jack brought Sam back to her front door he was hoping to give her a proper goodbye.

Sam thought she could tell that Jack wanted to kiss her. She'd been on enough dates to see the telltale signs. "Colonel." It was all she needed to say. They both understood that there were still some boundaries and it might be a while before they could be torn down. "I had a great time." 'So cliché,' she thought.

"Me, too, Carter. I'll see you on Monday. Good night."

"G'night."


	11. Chapter 11

Creep alert!

* * *

"So, here's the most important room in the entire facility," Jack said. He had been escorting his new team member (potentially).

"The mess hall?"

"Yep. Shall we?"

"Sir, shouldn't we go over the details of my job?"

"We'll get to that. Come on." Jack led the way and after picking up their trays of food sat down with Teal'C and Daniel. "Boys, this here is Lieutenant MacDuff."

"Hello," Daniel said warily.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant MacDuff."

"Hey. You can just call me Mac. The rest is just fluff."

"Daniel is our expert on archaeology, and Teal'C is our expert on…foreign affairs."

"What's that thing on your forehead, man, some kind of battle trophy? I got a couple of tattoos after my hardest missions, too. I'm surprised they let you prance around without covering it up."

Teal'C just stared at Mac. Daniel nearly choked on his food, and Jack thought about what tactical moves he'd have to pull off to keep the Jaffa off the new guy.

After a few awkward minutes of silence the men ate their food while going over Mac's resume. "So, your specialty was sniping?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a sniper, but I was certainly the best on my old team.

"Your exemplary skills would be most beneficial for SG-1."

"What's SG-1?" Mac asked.

"We are." Jack replied. He gave Teal'C and Daniel a look that they knew meant, 'Don't say another word.'

Daniel diverted. "Where were you last stationed, Mac?"

"Coronado, CA. I was part of Team 7 for about a year."

Jack was curious, "Why did you leave?"

Mac gave him a look that Jack didn't quite like. "I just couldn't take it anymore. Too much shit going on." This time Mac changed the subject. "What happened to your last team member? Did he die or something?"

"Uh, no. _She_ has been promoted to another department," Daniel filled in.

"You 3 got to be on a team with a woman? You must have had some fun missions!"

The other 3 didn't know what to say so Daniel changed the subject yet again. "Jack, remember the other night when we were at Lazy's?"

"Lazy's?" Mac interrupted. "I've been there. It's down on Anderson Street by the big reflective pool?"

"Yeah." Jack said.

"I liked that place! I met this girl there and I tell you what, she was hot! Tall, blonde and I later found out she had a really nice rack." He held up his hands with his fingers spread as far out as they could go. "She was so drunk I didn't even have to try that hard to get her in the sack."

Daniel dropped his fork in disgust, his mouth hanging wide open. Teal'C raised his eyebrow, but remained quiet. Jack gave another signal that his team should stay quiet. 3 years together gave them plenty of opportunities to read Jack's mind. It was going about a mile a minute. This guy, 'Mac', was digging his own hole. Jack was curious how far he would end up digging. Mac didn't seem to notice the looks on the other men's faces as he put the last fork full of food in his mouth.

"Well, let's continue our little tour." Jack eyed his team. They knew it wasn't good for Mac.

10 minutes later Jack and Mac were going down the halls of the research floor. "The next stop is the second most important room on the base."

"What do they do in there?"

"Oh, I just like it."

Mac wasn't sure what to think of this Colonel. He'd spoken to a few of his buddies before coming over here and they warned him that the Air Force guys tend to be weird.

"Carter, I'd like you to meet our potential 4th member!"

Sam kept her eyes on her telescope, "Just one second, Sir." She adjusted the focus and went to write down her observations. "I'm sorry, it's so hard to see them sometimes." Looking up, she saw Jack rocking on feet. She instantly smiled. Then she saw the man standing next to him and her breath caught in her throat.

"Hey, baby! I remember you! Fancy seeing you, here." Mac was looking at Sam.

Jack stepped forward, "You know this guy?"

"You could say that." Sam moved closer to Jack trying to calm herself. "Sir," she whispered, "that's him!"

"Who?"

"The uh…the guy…"

"You're kidding?"

Sam shook her head. She looked back to the guy looking at some of the specimens on a shelf.

"Carter. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's ok." She took a deep breath, again.

"Are you gonna tell him?"

Sam looked at Jack, back to the guy, then back at Jack. She thought for a moment but figured, "No time like the present, huh?"

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Need me to leave?"

She shook her head again. "No, please stay." He nodded and took a few steps away. "Uh, hi." She tried to act casual and produced a terribly fake smile.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

"Yeah, well, about that night…"

"It was pretty good, wasn't it?"

Sam scrunched her face up thinking this guy was full of it. "Right, you see, something happened that night."

"What?" He didn't seem to care that she was nervous. He had a smirk on his face that started to give Sam the creeps.

"Well, I, uh, I got pregnant." Sam waited for him to realize what she was saying.

"Oh, well, that's ok, baby! I don't mind if you got rid of it."

Sam's jaw dropped and she glanced over at Jack. 'Is this guy for real?' she silently asked him. She turned back to Mac, "I decided to keep it."

"Well, in that case, don't bother asking me for help. That's your fault."

Sam was furious but before she could react completely a green blur dashed in front of her and the guy dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Jack was standing over him. "Oops."

Sam moved closer. He was knocked out on the floor of her lab. She looked up at Jack completely surprised. Jack shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his knuckles. "Sir." Sam threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in to a fierce kiss. His hands quickly found her back and he pulled her closer. One hand went into her hair causing her moan. Jack used that as a means to slip his tongue past her warm lips.

"Sam! We heard a…oh!" Sam jumped back embarrassed. Daniel and Teal'C were standing in her doorway. She turned away from them trying to hide the smile on her face. She wiped her mouth and turned back around. "Anyway, what happened?" Daniel pointed to Mac lying on the floor with blood dribbling from his nose.

"Oh, you know, I was just introducing Carter to Mac and decided I'd had enough of him."

"His name is Mac?" Sam asked.

"Lieutenant William MacDuff, 'Mac'." Jack said.

Daniel and Teal'C were no closer to finding out what happened. "Guys, it turns out this guy, Mac, is the father of my baby."

The realization hit them hard. Daniel stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Oh. That explains a lot." Daniel went over to the phone on the wall. "Medical team to 34-A."

Sam explained what he'd said before Janet and her army arrived. They got him up on the gurney and Janet started smacking his face gently. He started coming around.

"What happened?" he asked groggily.

"Your career just went down the toilet, pal." Jack answered.

"Let's get him out of here." Janet stayed behind a moment. "It looks like he might have a broken nose. Probably has a small skull fracture from hitting the floor." Janet had a pretty good idea what had happened. "Do I need to take a look at your hand, Colonel?"

"No, I'll be fine. Just need some ice."

"I see." Janet eyed her friends and left them with a slight smile on her face.

Daniel and Teal'C gave Sam and Jack curious looks and left the room, too.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"Hey, I'm not complaining, am I?"

Sam smiled.

"I'm sorry I hit him. Kinda."

"You just beat me to it, Sir."

Jack smiled. "You want to get out of here?"

"I can't. I haven't finished what I was doing."

Jack frowned a little.

She continued, "But I haven't had lunch yet."

That brought Jack's smile back. He stepped aside and held his hand out for her to lead the way. "Ladies first."

* * *

Oh, I have the utmost respect for Navy SEAL teams and all they have to do. I know creeps like the one here don't end up on such an elite team.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you for your amazing reviews! I hate that it's not Jack's, too, but what would a story be without drama?

* * *

Friday night creeped up on Sam. She was supposed to have another non-date with Jack but instead she was worshipping the porcelain god. She hadn't had any morning sickness in about a week but tonight it seemed to catch up with her. She ate a banana for her afternoon snack and it seemed to disagree with her.

"Carter? Carter?"

Sam heard Jack's voice echoing through her house. She didn't have the strength to call out but she managed to moan slightly.

"Sam?" His voice grew worried.

She moaned again trying to help him find her location.

"Sam, are you…? Oh." Jack had entered her bathroom. "Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"Can I help?"

She shook her head.

"Hmm. I'll be right back." Jack disappeared and Sam heard faint noises from down the hall. He returned with a water bottle, a sprite, and a box of tissues then placed them on the floor next to her. "I'd hold your hair back if it was longer."

"Hmm," Sam tried saying with a smile. A second later she gave alms to the god.

"Well, it doesn't look like we're going anywhere. Stay here and I'll be back again."

Sam nodded again. She managed to stop vomiting and cleaned herself up. She barely managed to crawl over to her bed. 10 minutes passed and Jack came in again. He had a bag from the corner market. "We will just have to hang out here. Where's your dvd collection?"

"You don't have to stay, Sir."

"Yes I do. I can't leave you like this. I brought you some good ol' chicken noodle soup and my favorite crackers."

"Saltines?"

"Of course. These babies go with anything!"

Sam smiled. She tried sitting up. "I don't think I can make it to the living room." She was still weak.

"No problem! I'll bring dinner to you and you have a nice big tv right here."

"You don't think that would be weird." She was a little worried about what that would look like.

"Absolutely not! I have a feeling you'll fall asleep and I'd much rather you be in your bed from the start."

"Who says I'll fall asleep?"

"Experience. Now, sit tight, and think up a movie to watch. I'll be back with your soup."

Sam collapsed across her bed as Jack went back to the kitchen. When he came back he asked, "So, what'll it be?"

"The Sound of Music."

"Seriously?"

She laughed. "No! I'm kidding. How about Die Hard?"

"My kinda movie. You sure you want to watch it?"

"Yippee kayay!"

"Alright, then." Jack left again. This time he returned with a tray with soup, crackers, and the movie.

He placed the dvd in the player and started the movie. Sam began slowly eating her soup. She was surprised that the warm liquid soothed her all the way to her core. "This is good."

"I'll be sure to pass that along to Campbell's." They shared a smile.

Half way through the movie Sam was sound asleep. Jack silently congratulated himself for his prediction as he covered her up in her blanket. He decided to stay until the end just in case she woke up again. Plus he loved this movie. He turned the sound down since he knew it from memory. It was barely 10 o'clock when it was over. He sat next to her staring at her beautiful face. He couldn't resist a light brush of his finger across her cheek. He moved a strand of hair off her forehead and then Jack reluctantly went home.

Saturday morning Sam was awoken at 7:30 by a phone call. Her dad had come back. "Could you ask him to come to my house?" she asked the sergeant.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

Sam was feeling much better. It wasn't just the food that helped, but knowing how much Jack took care of her. She had about an hour before her dad would show up so she jumped in the shower. As she was finishing her breakfast her doorbell rang.

"Hey, kiddo!"

"Hi, Dad." They hugged. "I thought you'd be gone a little longer."

"Me, too, but Martouf asked me to drop off some intelligence."

At the sound of Martouf's name Sam felt guilty.

"Is something wrong, Sam?"

"Uh, Dad, I've got something to tell you. Let's go to the living room." They sat on the couch and Sam broke the news.

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

"I know. I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's ok, Sam. I'll just need some time to wrap my head around this. Luckily Selmak is working her magic."

Sam smiled. "I have other news, too."

"Oh? I'm not sure I can take any more."

"It's not bad, I promise. You see, General Hammond has made me head of technology."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I thought you were going to say it was Jack's."

"Uh, no, it's not." Sam didn't want to go into any more details.

"Sam, I'm happy for you, really. Just give this old man some time. Is this why you're not there right now?"

"Yeah, I've been taking more time off. Turns out being pregnant is exhausting."

"I remember your mother sleeping for 3 months straight with both you and your brother." Sam loved hearing about her mom. "How far are you?"

"I've just started my 8th week. I'm feeling really good, too. Just tired."

"No morning sickness?"

"Only a little. Last night was the worst. I guess I can't eat bananas anymore."

Jacob laughed. "Do you need me to go get some pickles and ice cream?"

"No, I haven't had any cravings like that."

"Ok, then." Jacob stood. "I told General Hammond I'd be back soon. I guess he knew what you'd tell me."

Sam nodded and stood, too.

Jacob hugged Sam again. "So, when are you due? I'll do my best to come back in time. It's possible I won't have any more trips until then."

"I'm due September 25th."

"Ok, kiddo. I'll see you then." Jacob started walking towards the door. He stopped and looked back at Sam, "I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."


	13. Chapter 13

So, I'm sorry I've completely left out some major parts of the show like the replicators, but we'll just keep ignoring that. :) Also, since Sam is not allowed to mess with things the details of this episode had to be changed a little. Spoilers for Upgrades!

* * *

"So, the chat with your dad went well?" Jack was walking with Sam to her lab.

"Yeah. I know he wasn't really thrilled, but I know he'll be ok."

"It's too bad he couldn't stick around a little longer. Those Tok'ra keep him pretty busy, huh?"

"Yes, but he's alive."

Jack remembered seeing Jacob near death before agreeing to become a host. Jack stayed silent during the rest of their short walk. When they got to her lab he said, "Well, I'll see you around lunch?"

"Sure." He started to leave but Sam stopped him. "Sir? I never got to say thank you for hanging around the other night. You were a big help."

"Anytime, Carter. I'm glad I could be there for you." With that Jack went down the hall. As he was making his way to nowhere he heard the alarms indicating the gate activation. Curiosity got the better of him so he decided to see what it was. Standing there at the top of the ramp was a guy and a beautiful woman wearing next to nothing! Jack swallowed the thoughts making their way to the wrong places. 'Not interested,' he said to himself.

As everyone made their introductions Hammond asked Jack to get Sam since this would fall under her area. Once they were all in the briefing room Anise started her explanations. "These armbands were recently discovered among some ancient ruins on a remote planet."

"I don't recognize the symbols. May I?" She handed one to Daniel.

"The language belongs to a race called the Atoneeks. Their existence and demise predates the Goa'uld."

Sam looked at the device trying to hide her excitement. "Atoneeks, I think Jolinar knew about these. They're supposed to give the wearer incredible speed and strength, right?"

"Yes," Anise continued, "Many thought it was just a myth. Still, the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra have both sought these devices for some time."

"Obviously not a myth," Daniel said.

"The Tok'ra were very excited when I found them." Anise couldn't hide her pride.

" _You_ found them?" Daniel asked.

"My area of expertise is ancient cultures."

"Oh, mine too!" Daniel said. Jack looked at him, puzzled. Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

Anise went on, "We hoped the devices would provide our operatives with a great new physical advantage in the fight against the Goa'uld."

"However?" Jack asked.

She held up the armband and placed it on her arm. She tried to close it but it didn't activate.

"They don't work for you," Daniel surmised.

"Our top scientific minds have researched the technology at length. To the best of our knowledge the devices should work, however something causes them to reject the Tok'ra physiology."

Teal'C spoke for the first time, "Your symbiote."

"That is a likely assumption," Anise agreed.

"Then the device will most likely be ineffective on me as well.

"Yes, which is why I brought only 3."

Sam knew Anise would want her to try it. She looked at Jack and they both exchanged their concern. "Err…I still have a protein marker left by Jolinar." 'Please let that be a good enough excuse,' Sam thought.

"Hopefully that will have no effect."

The room got quiet. Sam put her head down. General Hammond stepped in, "Major Carter will not be able to participate in this experiment." They all hoped they wouldn't have to reveal why just yet.

"I see," said Anise.

Daniel took it upon himself to put the focus back on the armbands. "Incredible speed and strength, huh?"

"In fact, according to the inscriptions they should greatly increase all of your natural abilities."

"That's kinda cool." Jack said.

Anise continued. "In the interests of the Tok'ra/Human alliance, I expected you would cooperate."

General Hammond looked a little concerned. "Couldn't we take some time to learn a little more about these things? Perhaps Major Carter and Dr. Jackson…"

"I had hoped to begin human trial experiments immediately." Anise grew annoyed and the whole room noticed.

"What's the rush?" Jack asked.

"If you are not willing to trust us and participate, I will find human subjects on another planet."

They all knew they couldn't pass this up. "Fine." Jack said.

Anise closed her eyes and her host emerged. "Colonel, please forgive the scientist in Anise. She has worked very hard for this. I assure you that every safety precaution will be taken." She closed her eyes again and Anise came back. "What is your answer?"

Later

"I didn't think we'd get to hang out now that we're in separate departments." Jack sat on a bed in the gym.

"You never thought you'd get asked to put on an experimental arm band that's supposed to give you superhuman abilities?" Sam smiled as she checked some of the readings coming from the alien device. "Anise doesn't let me look at these. Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I think she's upset that you're not going to do it."

"Well, she's just gonna have to get over it." The both laughed and Anise came back in.

Later (again)

Jack, Sam, and Daniel were in the gym discussing the abilities brought on by the armbands. "I believe the armbands have now reached their maximum potential." Anise looks pleased.

Janet walked in, "Anise, can I see you a moment?" She walked closer and General Hammond joined the conversation. "Dr. Jackson and Colonel O'Neill have significantly raised body temperatures."

"They are in no danger!"

"I disagree, their symptoms are indicative of the presence of a virus."

"You are correct. My biodata indicates that the armbands released a virus into their systems."

The General was angry. "Doesn't that concern you?"

"It must be how the technology accesses the human physiology. It took a different amount of time in each individual because of each subject's unique reaction to the virus."

"That's all speculation!" Janet exclaimed. "Dr. Jackson's blood work showed a dangerous amount of adrenaline in his system."

"I object to the interference in my experiment." Anise looked very put out.

"I object to being kept in the dark about the condition of people whose health I am responsible for!" Janet was about ready to start a catfight.

"Are you suggesting I would risk their health?"

General Hammond asked, "Doctor, we're seeing some really interesting results. Are you saying we should discontinue the experiment?"

"Until we know more about the physical effects of this virus, yes! I say we remove the armbands and we run more tests to make sure that these changes are not permanent or damaging."

"General!" Anise did not want that to happen.

"No, I'm sorry. If there's one thing I've learned in my time here is that there's nothing wrong with a little prudence when dealing with alien devices." The trio went over to where Daniel and Jack were waiting, completely bored. "Based on Doctor Fraiser's recommendations I've decided to stop the experiment temporarily."

"What?" Sam asked.

"What," Daniel repeated, irritated.

"Why?" Jack wondered.

"We'd like to get a better read on exactly what these things are doing to you."

"General?" Sam wasn't sure what he meant.

"I'd rather not do that, Sir." Jack liked what was happening.

Janet stepped in, "I think the armbands may be having a narcotic like effect. Wearing them may become addictive, it's just one of the things I would like to rule out."

General Hammond straightened. "Please take the armbands off."

"But…" Jack pouted.

"Are you refusing to comply with a direct order?"

Sam watched as Daniel and Jack tried desperately to pull them off.

"Err…having a little problem here, Sir!"

"Colonel?" Hammond was waiting.

"Having a hard time complying!"

Later (again, again)

The original SG1 were hanging out in a rec room. "Carter, you should really go home. You need to rest."

"I'm ok, sir. I got a bed here, same as you. I figured we could just hang out like old times."

Jack admitted he liked the sound of that.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so damned hungry," Daniel said.

"Tell me about it. I'll starve before I die from whatever this thing can do to me." Jack got a devious look in his eye. He looked at Daniel. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah."

"Sir, please don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, Carter. We'll be back before anyone even knows we're gone." Sam and Teal'C saw nothing but a blur leave the room. She sighed. "Is it wrong to hope they'll bring us something to eat?"

Teal'C merely raised an eyebrow. "I do not believe they are in control of their choices."

"You can say that again."

The next morning Sam was surprised to see Daniel and Jack escorted into General Hammond's office. After nearly getting a severe butt whooping from him Anise popped in to make another proposition. Sam could see General Hammond was furious with Anise and was about to send her packing. Luckily Freya managed to calm everyone down and pleaded with him to review her data. Taking down a battleship would give them a huge advantage.

He dismissed everyone. Jack and Daniel went back to the rec room, Sam went to her lab, and Teal'C stayed with the General to discuss their options.

About an hour later Sam was going to check the servers. They hadn't been able to handle enough data and she wanted to make sure they worked more efficiently. On her way, though she felt a hand grab her arm and drag her into an emergency escape shaft. Her military instincts kicked in and she readied herself for whatever might happen.

"Relax, Carter. It's just me." Jack stood before her.

"Sir? What are you doing? Are you trying to sneak out again?"

"In one way or another."

"Please don't. I'm not sure you'd get away with it again."

"I have to. I can't let these abilities go to waste when we have such a big obstacle ahead of us."

Sam finally understood what he was about to do. "No, you can't! It's too heavily guarded. You'll get caught and they won't hesitate to…"

"Sam." Jack's voice was low and sultry. "We'll be fine. They'll never know what hit them. I just wanted to do something first." Before she even knew what was happening Jack's lips were pressed against hers. He wrapped his arms around her refusing to let her go.

At first Sam instinctively pushed him away but after realizing he might not come home she allowed him to continue. Her hands went for his hair pulling him closer.

His tongue demanded entrance and she complied. Jack pushed her against the wall of the shaft. One of his hands grasped the back of her neck tilting it to get a better angle. His other hand reached down and cupped her ass. He tried to squeeze it gently, but when she let out a whimper he knew it was too much. Jack then lifted her leg and pressed his body impossibly closer. This time she moaned. It drove Jack crazy and he wanted to rip her clothes off right there. Knowing that would be a really bad idea his hand abandoned her neck and reached to untuck her t-shirt. He slid his hand up her stomach and quickly found her breast. 'Sports bras are so annoying,' he thought. It didn't give him the satisfaction he desired so he carefully slipped his hand under it.

Sam moaned again, but this time it didn't sound good. Jack pulled away, panting. "Did I hurt you?"

Her breathing was heavy, too. "No, it's just that we really shouldn't be doing this."

"I don't care." Jack kissed her again.

Sam pushed him off. "I can see that."

"Sam, I want you." He kissed her again.

She pushed him back again. "Sir. We can't."

"Don't you want me?" He grabbed the sides of her face and leaned his forehead against hers.

"That's not the point."

"You're not denying it."

"Sir."

"Stop calling me that." In fact was turning him on even more.

"Colonel. It's not allowed."

"Why not? You don't answer to me, anymore."

Sam hadn't thought about that and Jack knew that she knew that it was no longer forbidden. "Either way, we can't."

Jack groaned.

"You're not exactly you right now. I just think this is a really bad idea."

"So, what you're saying is if I get this thing off of me, we can keep kissing?"

Sam smiled. "Something like that."

"Good, as soon as we get back I promise to cut my arm off."

"I don't know, I kinda like that arm."

"Sam, just one more, please."

After a moment of thinking she lifted her head and kissed him. It was short, but it was good. With a flash he was gone. She took a few minutes to fix her bra and her t-shirt and had to pretend she didn't know anything when the alarms started going off.

* * *

This is my longest story so far. Thanks for sticking around!


	14. Chapter 14

Here's my longest chapter so far. I don't know why the show never gave them a military ball. I know it's supposed to be in September, but for my own amusement I moved it to now (July). I always go with air date since they never showed you when they were doing things. Also, my husband is a Marine and all I know are Marine balls so if something is different than what I've written then I'm sorry. Please, enjoy!

* * *

In the two weeks following Jack and Daniel's escapade Sam made sure to stay away from Jack. Janet blamed his erratic behavior on raised levels of everything, including testosterone. Sam knew he didn't feel her up out of his own volition and she didn't want to give him any more opportunities to try again. She made sure she was never alone with Jack after that. It was pretty easy, too. If she was in her lab one of her associates was always there. Plus, Jack and Daniel weren't allowed to leave the base until the virus had completely left their systems so it's not like he could have dropped by her house unexpected. They spent time together in the mess hall and around the mountain, but never alone.

About 2 days after their mission Jack quietly discussed what he'd done in the escape shaft with Sam while they were eating. "I can't believe I did that. I'm really sorry!"

"I know, Sir. You weren't yourself."

"But, from what I can remember, you didn't exactly refuse my advances."

Sam avoided his questioning gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir."

Luckily Daniel and Teal'C showed up just in time to distract Jack.

Those two weeks were terrible for the SGC. Many of their fellow colleagues were killed during one battle. Then 2 of them turned out to be assassins brainwashed by the Goa'uld. Jack narrowly escaped Anise wiping his brain completely. Sam was so worried she stayed as close as she could to a garbage can. She knew before long she'd have to let the cat out of the bag. Her own team members must suspect something by now. They are scientists.

Now everyone was talking about the upcoming ball. The only reason Sam wanted to go was because it would be the last time she would be able to fit into her dress blues for a very long time.

Janet joined her for lunch. "So, how are you feeling these days?"

"Much better!"

"You're going to start showing soon. Since you're so thin it could happen a little earlier than most women."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm glad these BDU's have a little more give and all I have to do right now is extend my belt. I tried on my blues last night and I'll be ok as long as I don't sit. Or breathe." They laughed.

"I might actually enjoy this ball."

"Why?"

"I just feel like I'm really apart of something special."

"We are very lucky to have you around. There's no telling what could have happened if someone else was here during the whole histamine caveman thing. And that's just one time when you saved us."

"Yes, well, you've saved the whole world already. I think you win." They finished eating and Janet stood. "Well, I don't think I'll see you until tomorrow night. Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I've done this before."

Janet rolled her eyes and went back to work.

The ball ceremony went on without a hitch. No one called to inform them that the world needed saving again and the guest speaker wasn't half bad. Sam, Daniel, Jack, Teal'C, and Janet were at the same table. Sam laughed when Daniel poked Jack a couple of times to keep him from nodding off. Now everyone was given the freedom to party til they dropped. Sam was about ready to head home. She hadn't gotten a chance to take a nap earlier and now she was feeling it.

Daniel and Janet headed straight for the dance floor. Teal'C watched intrigued as he saw everyone dancing. "Your customs still surprise me, O'Neill."

"That's because you never get up and let loose. Carter, care to join me?" Jack stood holding his hand out to her.

"Oh, I don't really think I should."

"Come on, you'll do fine." She took his hand and just as they stepped on the dance floor a slow song came on. Sam was ready to turn back around but Jack held her hand firmly. "You're not getting away so easy." As she raised her arms to grasp his hand and put the other around his shoulder Sam looked around the room to see if anyone was watching them. She didn't want anyone to think it was her former team leader that got her pregnant. "Relax," Jack said. "No one is watching us. Besides a lot of people are dancing."

"But, Sir, they'll think…"

"No they won't. They're all busy getting drunk. No one is even going to remember tonight."

'He has a point,' Sam thought. As the song kept going she noticed their bodies kept getting closer. Their dress blues made it impossible to do anything, but it didn't stop the feelings they were both getting. When it ended Sam looked up into Jack's eyes. She blushed slightly then stepped back.

"You wanna get something to drink?" he asked.

"Sounds good, Sir." She followed him out into the hall and he ordered 2 water bottles from the bar.

They both sipped their drinks slowly until Jack said, "Come with me."

"Colonel?" He didn't wait for her to obey and she almost had trouble keeping up with him in her heels. She barely noticed he slipped out a side door that led to a small garden. "What are we doing out here?"

"I just wanted to get you alone."

"Why?"

"So I could do this." He grabbed her by her head, kissed her, and then dipped her. She quickly wrapped her arms around him mostly fearing she'd fall. Sam enjoyed the sensation. It was incredibly romantic, too. When he stood her up again she promptly pushed him away. "You can't do that again."

"Why not?"

"Because all my make up will rub off onto you."

"Is that the only reason?"

Sam thought for a second. "More or less."

He pulled her closer to him keeping as little distance between them as he could. "I've waited 2 weeks to do that again but you've managed to make sure I wouldn't."

"I just wanted to be sure it was really you. All that testosterone can take a while to leave your system."

"It wouldn't have mattered."

"Why?"

"Because when I'm around you it all comes back again. It's been so hard to fight off my manly urges to kill somethin', fix things, uh, cook outdoors."

She giggled. "Isn't that a quote from Mulan?"

"Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't get that."

"I watched it with Cassie like a month ago."

"So did I." He hugged her closer and started kissing her neck. Then he tried sliding a hand down to her ass.

"Need I remind you, we're still in uniform?" She grasped his arms for balance.

"Minor detail." He kept his attention on her neck just at the bottom of her earlobe.

"Colonel?" She tried to suppress a whimper.

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?" His voice changed. It was growly and hot. It made Sam weak in the knees.

"I should go home," Sam said breathy.

"Great idea. Should we take your car or mine?" He switched to the other side of her neck.

"That wasn't exactly an invitation."

"That's ok, I'll just invite myself."

Sam laughed. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. She bit her lip and he could tell she was thinking. "Shouldn't we say goodbye to the guys?"

"Nope."

"Let's take mine." They shared a mischievous smile then quickly ran back through the building and out to the other side where their cars were parked. Sam was surprised that they hadn't run into anyone during their escape. She unlocked her car before realizing Jack wasn't with her. A minute passed and he ran up to her holding a small bag. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Uh, I always keep a bag in my car."

Sam didn't buy it for one minute but didn't hesitate to get in and start it up. Jack followed with a huge grin on his face. Their car ride was silent except for the NPR on the radio. For once Jack didn't care and left it.

When they got to her house Sam seemed to ignore Jack. She went in wordlessly and went straight to her bedroom. Jack was confused but followed anyway. She had turned on a lamp and was just taking off her heels. "That feels so much better!" She wiggled her hose clad toes into the carpet. She turned to Jack and put her arms around his shoulders. "Now we don't have to worry about my make up."

Jack didn't wait for anything and kissed her. This time he kept it simple, but passionate. He used very little tongue wanting to focus on the feel of her soft lips. Sam started to unbutton his blouse but it was too difficult. It made her pull away in frustration. "How about we take care of our own blouses. These things can be tricky, you know."

Sam nodded in agreement. They'd both had their share of uncomfortable uniforms. He was done before she was and she heard him release a moan of pleasure. She smiled then pulled hers off as well. They both wore t-shirts under their formal clothes. She went into her closet and came back with 2 hangers. Once they both were hung up she went over to her jewelry box and started taking off her earrings. Jack stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He went back to kissing her exposed neck. When she switched he followed. His hands found their way under her t-shirt exploring her warm skin.

It seemed to take a lifetime for her to put her earrings away! Finally she was finished and Jack didn't hesitate in removing her shirt. He spun her around and kissed her again. They stopped long enough for her to remove his. He loved the feeling of her mostly bare skin against his and her hands were moving slowly up and down his back. It sent an erotic sensation through him. He couldn't wait to see more. Blindly he felt around her hips for the zipper of her skirt. He found it, but was having trouble with it. "Here, let me," she said.

"Sorry, I've never undressed a fellow officer, before." He watched as she unzipped it and unhooked the top of it. Her skirt dropped to the floor. He fought back a moan as he stared at her beautiful body.

Sam blushed a little embarrassed. She hadn't dreamed of being in this situation before. She started to cross her arms in front of herself, but Jack stepped in and moved them away. "You're beautiful!"

"Hmm, so you say, but it won't last, now." She felt ashamed again.

Jack saw it. "Hey," he lifted her chin so she would look at him. "It doesn't matter, Sam. I'll be here. I'll take care of you."

"You don't have…"

"You need to stop saying that. I want to. Sam," he looked into her eyes waiting until he found the strength, "I love you."

She couldn't believe her ears. She was close to crying but she swallowed them back. "I...I love you, too, Sir."

" _Sam_."

She smiled. "I mean, Jack."

"Let's try that again. I love you, Sam."

"I love you, Jack."

He kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. They fought for possession of each other's mouths neither willing to give up the battle. Jack quickly removed her bra and threw it across the room. He moved her closer to the bed.

"Jack."

He didn't want to stop.

"Jack, wait." He groaned, frustrated. She giggled. "I have to pee."

"Oh, well, then."

She ran to the bathroom and Jack plopped down on her bed. He started taking off his shiny black shoes and tossed them next to Sam's. As he was about to remove his pants she came back out totally naked. The vision before him made him harder.

"Need help?" Jack was just standing there frozen with his belt undone. She walked over to him and finished opening his pants. They fell to the floor and Jack started feeling over dressed in just his boxers. Sam noticed the bulge and blushed again. She grabbed his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her melting at the heat she emitted. Before he knew it she had pushed his boxers down and he finally kicked them away.

She pushed him away, threw back her covers and got on the bed. He lay beside her caressing her cheek. "Are you sure, Sam?"

She nodded and he kissed her again. His tongue grazed hers and it gave her goosebumps. He stopped and watched as his hand explored her body. He wanted to feel every inch of her. It was pure agony for him to wait, but it was worth it. His fingers slid down her arm, went over her hipbone, down the outside of her thigh and back up through the inside. He paused briefly close to her core, but left it teasingly. As he brushed her lower belly he scooted down to put his face near it. "Hey, there." Sam giggled. "I just want you to know that I'm never gonna go away. I promise I'll always be here for you and for your mom." He sealed his promise with a kiss to her belly. He went back up to lie next to Sam. She kissed him in appreciation.

They continued to kiss and Jack's hand found her breast. He knew she'd be tender from her pregnancy and tried to be gentle. Her hand met his and Jack pulled away. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I like it. I wanted you to keep going."

Jack smiled. "Listen, I don't know if you're nervous about the baby, but as long as I'm not hurting you then you should be fine."

Sam admitted that she was a little worried. She wasn't so naive to think people never had sex if one was pregnant, but she hadn't experienced it herself and didn't know what to expect. "Ok."

"So, just let me know if I'm hurting you at all."

"I will."

He kissed her quickly but abandoned her mouth for her nipple. It was begging for him to suck on it. He squeezed her other breast and it made Sam moan. Jack waited for a moment to make sure it was a good sound. They were both enjoying the feeling. Sam's hand found itself in his hair pressing his mouth into her flesh. It surprised Jack to know Sam was so enthusiastic and it nearly caused him to blow. His slid down to find her core and Jack discovered she was very wet. They both moaned again as he rubbed her soft folds. Jack couldn't take it anymore and knelt between her legs. He leaned over her putting his weight on his elbows and knees and kissed her.

Sam knew what he wanted because she wanted it, too. She lifted her hips slightly and Jack got the hint. Slowly he found her entrance and dipped his throbbing dick in. Just the head was enough to make Sam arch her back in ecstasy. Jack slowly dipped further in until her warmth surrounded him. They groaned together again and Jack started driving into her. Sam held onto his shoulders anticipating the sensation. She clenched her muscles and suddenly was overcome by the waves of her orgasm. Jack followed soon after breathing hard.

He collapsed next to her. "You ok?"

"Yeah."

"Good." They both lay there catching their breath and enjoying the flood of their high.

Sam got up and went to the bathroom again. Jack went after she was done. They laid in each other's arms until the morning light woke them from their blissful slumber.


	15. Chapter 15

I just had a close call! I almost reposted the last chapter! Anyway, this one is short and sweet!

* * *

Sam woke up from the most amazing night of sleep she'd had in months. Jack was spooning behind her snoring slightly. They were both on their right sides with their legs tangled and Jack's left hand was gently cupping her right breast. Their bodies were half covered by a sheet but she didn't feel cold. She did, however, have to pee really badly. Sam tried her hardest to ease out of his embrace but every time he'd pull her closer to him and mumble something she didn't understand into her neck. Sadly, her only course of action was to just go for it. She quickly lifted his arm, detangled her legs, and hopped out of bed. She watched him, waiting for him to rouse. When he didn't appear to wake up she turned and went to the bathroom.

She knew the flush would certainly wake him. Before she left she drank a little water and tip toed back to her room. Jack was lying on his back now. One of his legs was exposed. His right arm behind his head while the other draped across his stomach but he was still asleep. She smiled knowing they'd had finally crossed the line. Sam crept back into the bed and lay next to him. She pulled one leg up and slung it over his covered leg. He instinctively removed his hand from his head and cradled Sam's back. She let her head rest against his chest and hugged his belly with her arm.

Sam remembered the time they were trapped in Antarctica and she tried her hardest to keep Jack warm. They were wearing their BDU's then, but it was still pretty comfortable. Now, she was in heaven! Sam melted in his embrace and soon fell back asleep.

Jack woke up about an hour later to find a beautiful blonde lying in his arms. He smiled. He turned his head to smell her hair. 'Hmm, strawberries,' he thought. Jack started sliding his hand up the arm around his belly. Her skin was so soft. His other hand began making lazy circles across her back. He could feel the rise and fall as she breathed. Jack would remember this day for the rest of his life.

Sam started waking up. She hummed her thanks to Jack for the feeling of delight his ministrations caused. "Good morning."

"Yes, it is. How did you sleep?"

"Amazingly!"

"I'm good, but I'm not that good."

"Ha, ha, ha." Sam mocked. "Can we just stay like this all day?"

"Oh, I'd love to. But don't you think you'd get a little hungry?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Probably."

"There's something I think you should know."

"Now?" Sam was a little worried.

"Yes. It's nothing big, but I just think you should know."

"Ok."

"When Anise was trying to determine whether or not I was a Zatarc she made a pass at me."

Sam laughed a little. "What?"

"Yeah! I was sitting there in my isolation room contemplating my doom and she came in to chat. Out of the blue she just kissed me. I tried to let her down gently, but she didn't get the hint. In fact, she kissed me twice. Finally she understood and apologized. She said she came from a planet where showing affection was very common."

"You mean it was Freya?"

"Oh, yeah, I get them all confused. It was the host. She said Anise actually had a thing for Daniel."

"What is it about Daniel?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, why would you say that?"

Sam hesitated. She didn't want to reveal what Janet had told her so she finally came up with something else. "Every planet we go to he gets a girl to fall for him."

"People could say the same about you, lately."

"That's not true!" She poked Jack.

"Is, too." He poked her back.

She released a squeal that hurt Jack's ears. "What was that?"

Sam turned bright red. "Nothing."

"Samantha Carter, are you ticklish?"

"No," she said a little too quickly.

"I can't believe I never knew that!" Jack attacked her with animalistic passion.

"No!" She screamed as she giggled. "Stop!"

Jack tickled her belly, her armpits, her feet, and even her thighs. He was relentless until she was crying from laughter. He sat at the head of the bed and leaned against the headboard, victorious.

Sam recovered and kicked him gently. "That's so unfair!"

"Oh, I know you liked it. Now I have a secret weapon."

"But where's mine?"

"I would have thought that was obvious."

"What?"

Jack got up and cuddled next to her. He gently turned her face towards his and whispered. "You are my weakness, Sam."

All thoughts of the assault were forgotten. Sam pulled him in for a kiss. They made love slow and sensual this time.


	16. Chapter 16

I hope I don't confuse anyone with this one. It's set during Window of Opportunity. If you haven't seen it, go watch it then come read this. I have to give credit to the writers of the show for writing a lot of the dialogue for this story and for chapter 14.

* * *

Tuesday morning everyone was back from the leave they were given for the ball. Daniel, Teal'C and Jack were preparing to go on their next mission. A few weeks ago SG-15 brought back some photos of a structure on the planet SG-1 was going to next. Daniel was going to have a hey day there. Jack was ordered to take along one of Sam's scientists to help keep track of their radiation levels.

Jack was walking through the halls about to pack his things. Sam came up behind him, "Sir. I need you to read through my report." She tried to hand him a small folder.

"Carter," Jack whined. "You know I hate reports."

She pushed it into his hand. "I really think you should read this one." Sam winked and hurried away.

Jack groaned, annoyed. He started walking again and finally opened it. The only thing in the folder was a note. _Meet me in the shaft._ Jack looked around making sure he was alone and read the note again. Immediately he crumpled it up and stuffed it in his pocket. He tried to casually walk towards the escape shaft he had cornered Sam in just a few weeks ago. His heart was racing while he tried to figure out why she had said that. 'Does she want a quickie?' Jack's thoughts were driving him crazy. Finally he found the shaft and after looking to see no one was watching he slipped into the door.

Out of nowhere a hand pulled him inside faster and shut the door. He felt hands grab his face and give him a fierce kiss. The emergency exit light did little to reveal his captor. He determined it to be Sam after he grabbed her head in return. It made him relax knowing he wasn't being assaulted by a stranger. It turned him on to discover she wanted him so badly! She pushed him against the wall planting him there. Sam stopped kissing him and wasted no time in reaching for his belt. She had it undone quickly and Jack reached down to help with her's. Sam smacked his hands away. He was surprised. She had finished undoing his pants and had yanked them down along with his boxers. Jack was instantly aroused. His dick was hard and standing straight out. The next thing he knew Sam's hand was wrapped around it rubbing it intensely. He was shocked when she wrapped her mouth around it, too. They hadn't done any of this yet. Jack let out a moan but quickly suppressed it. It would be very bad if someone stumbled upon them right now.

Sam continued sucking and rubbing on Jack's dick. Instinctively he grabbed her hair but forced himself to be gentle. The sounds her mouth was making as she bobbed up and down his shaft caused him to feel like he was going to burst. He bit his lip trying to hide the pleasure. When he couldn't take it anymore he quietly whispered, "Sam."

She knew what it meant but didn't stop. Jack froze emptying his load into her mouth. He heard her moan quietly as she licked it all away. Finally she stood, grabbed a small package of tissues from her pocket, took one out and handed the pack over to Jack. She wiped her face quickly, looked out the door and left him standing there completely dumbfounded!

Jack stayed against the wall trying to catch his breath. 'Did she just…? Wow!' He did his best to clean himself off, fixed his clothes, picked up the empty folder he had dropped at some point and tried to go back to what he was doing before Sam had given him one hell of a blow job.

The briefing went as usual. Sam went over all the details of what SG-15 had learned and gave her own theories. Jack had even more trouble paying attention. All he could do was stare at her mouth as it moved. He was entranced. When General Hammond tried asking him a question he had to fake like he'd been listening.

"Ok, everybody, you leave in 2 hours." General Hammond stood and left.

Daniel, Teal'C and Dr. Felger stood and left. Jack and Sam were alone in the briefing room. "Good luck on our mission, Colonel." Sam licked her lips, picked up her files and nonchalantly exited the room.

Once again he was spellbound. He knew she had licked her lips to try to rile him up. It worked. Jack was going to have to work very hard to keep control of himself.

* * *

Jack stared at his fruit loops. He could have sworn he was just on another planet.

"Anyway, I'm sorry but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?" Daniel looked at Jack.

Jack looked from Daniel to Sam, to his fruit loops and back to Daniel. "What?"

Daniel looked at Sam and back to Jack. "What do you think?"

Jack looked around the room.

"Colonel, is something wrong?"

"Maybe! Weren't we just somewhere else?"

Sam looked at Jack, then Daniel.

"Where?" Daniel asked.

"Some planet." Jack said.

"When?"

"Just now."

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Jack put his spoon down. "Everything just changed."

Sam finally said, "Sir, we've been sitting in the mess hall for the past half-hour."

"Really?"

"Well, it is understandable how you could have gotten the two places confused," Daniel said sarcastically.

Sam smiled. "We're going to be late for the briefing."

"Briefing?" Jack was confused.

Daniel and Sam looked at each other puzzled.

"Are you ok? Or are you just trying to avoid answering my question?"

"I'm fine. What question?"

* * *

Jack and Teal'C spent many loops trying to help Daniel decipher the symbols they found on the planet that did this to them. It frustrated both of them that no one else could remember any of the things they had seen.

As they were sitting in Daniel's office during one of the loops Daniel said, "It's kind of an opportunity."

"How's that," Jack asked.

"Well, think about it. I mean, if you know in advance that everything is always going to go back to the way it was then…you could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about the consequences."

Jack and Teal'C used the next countless loops to have a little fun. They played golf through the wormhole and got their asses chewed out. They rode their bikes through the halls. Jack even mastered pottery. But what he enjoyed most was Sam. He would take her to secret places all over the base and enjoy her. At one point he asked her to let him do a little experiment. She agreed, curious herself about what would happen. During one loop Jack walked into the middle of the control room and announced that Sam was pregnant. The room erupted in congratulations to the mom to be. Sam and Jack figured they could up the ante. The next loop Jack announced he was in love with her. No one seemed to be surprised. General O'Neill managed to look shocked, though. He had the rest of them fooled, but Jack knew he only played dumb.

On another loop Jack announced that the baby was in fact his. This created more of a reaction from everyone. They all looked at the General to gauge his response. He wasn't happy, and he didn't have to fake it. Jack got in trouble in that loop.

On the next loop Jack tried something a little different. He hadn't told Sam about his idea, either. He waited until they were all in the briefing room going over the "new" mission. He stopped Sam in the middle of her explanation and handed the General his resignation.

"Resigning?"

"Sir?" Sam was confused.

"Why are you resigning" the General asked.

"So I can do this." Jack got down on one knee and pulled out a little red box. "Samantha Carter, will you marry me?"

Sam gasped and put her hands up to her mouth to try to hold back a squeal. She looked around the room. Teal'C was smiling so wide she could see all of his teeth. Daniel was shocked, but General Hammond surprised her more than anything. He was starting to cry. She completely ignored Felger. Sam looked back to Jack. "Yes!"

Jack stood up and kissed her. Everyone came up to them and hugged them both. "Congratulations!" They all said.

Jack and Teal'C didn't bother telling them about the loops this time. General Hammond was confident Daniel, Teal'C and Felger could handle this mission on their own.

Jack also didn't use any more loops to ask Sam to marry him. He wanted to wait until they got it all fixed. It gave Jack a good reason to really help Daniel solve the problem.

* * *

Jack took a giant spoonful of oatmeal.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone enjoy oatmeal so much." Daniel said, slightly disgusted.

"When you've been eating fruit loops for who knows how long, a little variety helps."

Sam looked at Jack. "We got a message from the Tok'ra. Apparently they've been trying to contact us for over three months."

Jack wasn't surprised. "Really?"

"Who knows when they first realized that we were cut off? I mean, there's really no telling how much time passed."

Daniel looked curious. "Let me ask you something. In all the time that you were, uh, looping, were you ever tempted to do something crazy?"

Jack looked at Sam who was interested to know the answer to that.

"I mean," Daniel went on, "you could do anything without worrying about the consequences."

"You know, it's funny. You asked me that before."

"And?" Daniel wondered.

Jack looked at Sam and simply smiled. Sam and Daniel exchanged a puzzled look. Jack ate another big spoonful of oatmeal.


	17. Chapter 17

Uh oh! Something is gonna happen!

* * *

Sam finally made it through her first trimester. The morning sickness was gone and she was able to get some sleep. Her yoga instructor suggested a few positions to help ease the tension she had been feeling and also mentioned she should get a body pillow. She did as much research as possible to find the right one. She ordered a fancy looking thing from a store and it had arrived just a couple of days ago. It was amazing what a pillow could do!

Jack and Sam had spent a few nights together but hadn't really made a habit out of it. They did however meet regularly for movie night. They each took turns picking a movie and popcorn. Sometimes Daniel and Teal'C would join them. They all enjoyed the down time. Their days at the SGC were hectic. Either they were battling Russians or Daniel was being taken captive by a whole other race.

General Hammond believed Jack was really having difficulty finding his fourth team member. He allowed SG-1 to go off world so long as it wasn't a very difficult mission but the General continued to put the pressure on Jack to get it done. Sam went over to Jack's office when she needed a break. "I've narrowed my list down to 3," he said.

"Progress!"

"Yeah, I figured after my last selection I needed to be a lot more thorough."

"Can I ask who they are?"

"Uh, I got this one guy," he handed a small stack of files to her, "he's a Marine. He did some time in the Gulf War, but came home a little early because of an injury."

"He got shot in the butt?"

"Yep, totally Forrest Gump style. He wound up saving his whole squad from an ambush."

"Nice!"

"This other one is kinda new but has exceptional weaponry skills. He's proven to be an asset wherever he goes. The last guy might be a little tricky."

"Why?"

"He's coming out of physical therapy. He was shot down over Afghanistan just over a year ago. He was paralyzed, but with some miraculous surgery he's pulled out of it. He hasn't been cleared for active duty yet, but they hope he'll be ready within the month."

"Who are you leaning towards?"

"I'm thinking the last one. There's just something about him."

"Huh," Sam looked at his file more carefully, "Captain Cameron "Shaft" Mitchell. He's young.

"I know, but I think he's the one."

Sam nodded. "I hope he works out for you."

"Me, too. Hey, I was meaning to ask you something. Have you done anything about the creep that took advantage of you?"

"Oh, uhm, yeah, I did. I thought about it a lot. I could have just left it alone. I can take care of myself and I'd rather not ever see him again, but I decided that if I don't teach him a lesson he might hurt someone else and I can't let that happen. So, I filed a request that he pay child support. I can put the money into an account and forget about it until the little one goes away to college."

"He'll probably end up going to Harvard if you have any say."

"Well, _she_ will probably go to more than one place."

"She, huh?"

"Well, maybe. I won't know for a while."

"Either way, your baby will definitely be a genius!"

Sam blushed. "Thank you, Sir."

Jack's phone rang and he picked it up. "I'm on my way." Sam wondered who that was. "General Hammond wants to see me."

"What did you do, now?"

"I don't know. I've been a good boy, lately." Jack left. Sam slowly made her way back to her lab.

General Hammond had given her the go ahead to announce her pregnancy to everyone. It wasn't the sort of thing you announce over the base intercom. Sam decided that telling her own team would be enough. They could spread the gossip as much as they liked. Everyone would see soon enough. She already went up a pant size. "Everyone!" Her team stopped what they were doing and looked at her. "I have a little announcement to make. I would like you all to be the first to know that I am pregnant!"

The group looked at her for a moment trying to gauge whether or not she was playing a joke on them. When she didn't reveal an evil scheme Simon Coombs came up to her. "Congratulations, Major."

"Thank you, Simon."

Everyone followed after he did congratulating her and giving her a few small hugs.

"So, who's the father?" Jay Felger asked, looking slightly bothered. Simon smacked him. "What?"

"You don't go around asking people that," Simon explained.

"Why not? Everyone wants to know. I'm just the only one brave enough to ask." The other scientists looked aimlessly around the room.

Sam was feeling a little uncomfortable. She knew exactly what Felger was talking about. She regained her composure before anyone noticed. "It's none of your business."

"It's Colonel O'Neill's isn't it?" Felger probed.

Simon smacked him again. "Shut up!"

Sam's palms started to get sweaty. "Let's just get back to work, ok."

"Come on, you can tell us."

"I'm not going to discuss my personal life with you, Dr. Felger." Sam's tone was enough to scare the scientist. The other ones quickly resumed their work. She sighed. Sam spent the next few hours working on the weapon a team had brought back.

Sam and Janet walked into the mess hall. She was starving since her appetite had increased over the last few days. Sam looked around and it was no surprise that she got a few extra glares from people. They immediately started whispering.

"Just ignore them," Janet said, "it will be old news soon enough."

They were enjoying their lunch when Daniel sat down next to them. "Did you hear?"

The two women looked at each other and then back to Daniel. "No."

"A message came from Edora. Jack had to rush over there."

"Alone?"

"I guess it wasn't dangerous."

Janet looked at Sam. She was clearly worried. "Come on, Sam. Let's get out of here."

2 days went by before Sam heard the news that Jack was coming back home. He had only spoken on a secure line with the General since his departure and it made Sam very nervous. General Hammond assured her that he was safe from any harm. Jack was there to take care of some business. She waited anxiously in the control room as the wormhole was established. The next few minutes became a blur to her.

Jack came through the gate alone holding something in his arms. She couldn't make it out from where she was sitting but it looked like a little blue blanket. General Hammond and Janet were in the gate room looking at whatever Jack was holding. He looked up at her and Sam saw his face fall. Now she was really worried. Jack followed Janet and they left the gate room.

General Hammond came up to the control room. "Major, can I speak with you?" Sam gulped away her nerves and nodded. General Hammond took her by her elbow and they went into his office. He shut the door. "I'm afraid I have some news. I'm not even sure where to begin." He cleared his throat. "Major, Colonel O'Neill has brought a baby back from Edora."

"A baby?"

"Yes. You see, it looks as though it's his baby. The Edorans requested Jack's immediate return when Laira went into labor. Their midwife felt something was wrong and summoned for him. Jack made it there just as she was dying. She asked that he take the baby home with him." General Hammond stopped. He wanted to see how Sam was taking the revelation.

Sam's face was blank.

"Major, do you understand what I just said?"

She thought for a moment longer, put her head down and started to cry.

"Sam?"

"I'm ok. I promise. I just need a few minutes."

"Take all the time you need, Major."

She wiped away her tears and stood. "If it's ok, I'm going to take the rest of the day off."

"Of course."

Sam left and went to pack up her things. As she put her laptop away she realized something. Jack was now going to have to take care of a baby. She kinda felt bad for him. The whole thing was probably really hard for him, too. On her way out of the base she stopped in the infirmary where they were monitoring the new born. Jack sat in a chair a couple of feet away from a make shift bassinet. He was alone. "Jack," she whispered.

He looked up, surprised to see her. "Sam!" He got up and went to her. "Sam, let me…"

She held a hand up. "Don't. Don't say anything." Her voice was quiet. "I just wanted to tell you congratulations." She looked in the direction of the baby. "And, I'm sorry about Laira." Jack raised his arms to hug her but she immediately stepped away. "I'm not ready." She could see he was struggling with every kind of emotion. "I need some time, but I wanted to tell you that."

He dropped his arms and Sam went home.


	18. Chapter 18

I'm evil and I know it. This story as had a lot of bad things in it. It makes me sad, too. But, when I get your reviews, it makes me feel better. Thanks! Enjoy!

* * *

Sam found herself at a red light that just happened to be right next to a baby store. She didn't drive this way very often, but today she had gone to get some of her favorite ice cream before going home. She decided to go take a look. As she wandered around the tiny store full of tiny things her heart melted. She found a cute little outfit that said 'Mom's lil brainiac'. She decided to buy it. She also saw some of the things she'd have to buy pretty soon. All the baby gear she would need overwhelmed her. Sam took a catalog figuring she had a little time to find the right stuff. She asked the store clerk about some of the clothes she'd need right away. She suggested some onesies and sleepers and blankets. Sam bought a few that were yellow and pale green. She and Janet had discussed when to find out about if it was a boy or girl and she still had about 5 more weeks before they would do that.

Sam left the store feeling a little better about what she'd just learned. Poor Jack, she thought. He was probably having a hard time. She contemplated their predicament. He was angry with her for getting pregnant and now he was a father again. Sam went home thinking about their futures.

"Colonel O'Neill, I'm afraid I have to ask you a few questions to help determine the baby's status. I'm sorry we have to go through this, but it's important for his health."

"Ok," Jack said quietly.

"When do you think Laira became pregnant?"

"Uh, well, I didn't start sleeping with her til I had been there about a month. I remember her having a period a few weeks later."

"So, she was probably around 4 weeks when you came home?"

"Sure."

"You came home in January, so the baby should have been born at about this time. I just wanted to make sure his gestational period was complete. He seems to be perfectly healthy, sir. Laira knew how to take care of herself."

Jack nodded.

"What else did the midwife tell you?"

"She said Laira lost a lot of blood and she couldn't stop it. The baby had some trouble coming out, but Laira wouldn't give up."

"She was very brave, Sir."

"Yeah, she was." Jack looked down at the tiny baby sleeping. He thought of Laira and how sad it was that he would grow up without knowing how wonderful she was. Jack knew he wouldn't be able to tell him everything. He wiped a tear from his face. "Luckily another woman was nursing her baby so he had a little help before we came here."

"He's still young, changing him to formula should be easy. I'll give you a list of things you'll need. It's going to be a long one, Sir."

"I know."

Janet came back with 2 lists. She handed one to him. "You'll need to go get these things and bring them back immediately."

2 30 oz cannisters gentle bellies baby formula

6 8 oz baby bottles

1 package newborn size diapers

1 package size 1 diapers

baby wipes

3 sleeper outfits

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Jack left but Janet knew he was still coming to terms with everything. The midwife and some of the villagers had given Jack only a few basic needs. They knew the baby would be better off on Earth and with his father. Jack had said goodbye to Laira just after he had arrived. He didn't even know she had been pregnant. She apologized for not telling him. She thought she could do it on her own, but now the baby needed him.

He came back within the hour. Luckily someone had helped him quickly find what he needed. Jack felt as though he was way in over his head. Janet handed him the other list. "I know this will take a lot longer. You should take Daniel. He can help you finish the list. The baby will be ready to go home before tomorrow afternoon. You need to be ready, Sir."

"Ok."

"We can take care of him until then." Jack began to walk away. "Sir?" He turned around. "It will be ok."

Daniel helped Jack find a store that could deliver the baby furniture by the end of the day. They worked quickly to find everything on the list. They got a crib, changing table, dresser, glider, car seat, stroller, and swing. They next went to look for clothes and other necessary items that the baby would need.

"Jack, have you decided on a name?"

"A name?" He thought back to when he and Sara had tried to pick a name. It was hard to do without knowing if it was a boy or girl. Sara chose one for a girl. She liked Hannah. Jack came up with Charles. It was his grandfather's name and they were close before his grandpa died. Charlie suited the boy well. Jack felt the pain of his past return. He vowed to do better with this baby. "Uh, no I haven't."

"You could always go with Daniel." He gave him a wide smile.

"Right." 2 hours later they finished the list. Jack knew he could buy the whole store and still feel unprepared. Everything should be delivered before the end of the day. He still had to build the furniture. He knew Teal'C would be good at that. Jack went back to the base to check up on the baby.

He had been given a bath and all the nurses were crowded around him. It wasn't every day that they got to hold a baby. "He's so cute!" One of them said.

Jack felt a sense of fatherly pride. Any baby of his would be adorable! He stood behind them waiting for them to notice him. "I can tell he has Colonel O'Neill's eyes." Jack tried to get a closer look. Finally one of the nurses saw Jack and shooed the others away. She handed the baby to him and asked if he needed anything.

"No, we'll be ok." The baby yawned.

"Ok, Sir."

Jack was alone with his son again. "Ok, little guy. What should I name you? I've known a lot of good men whose names would be nice. Daniel suggested I give you his name. He's a good guy, but I think that would get a little confusing, don't you think? Your mom didn't give me any hints, either. I had a friend in the academy that had a good name. It was William, but we called him Billy. There's always Jonathan, but even I hated it so much I changed it. I couldn't do that to you. George is nice, but I wouldn't want to give the General a big head. Hmm. How about Andrew? I worked with an Andrew once. He died saving me. That's it. I'm going to name you Andrew (Andy for short). How does that sound?" The baby squirmed in his arms then settled down comfortably. "I think it's a winner."

"Me, too."

Jack spun around and saw Sam standing behind him. He was stunned that she'd be back. "Are you ok, Sam?"

"I am, now. Jack, I'm sorry for not being there for you earlier. This must be really hard for you."

"It's ok, Sam. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you, either."

Sam looked at the now sleeping baby in his arms. "Andy, it's a good name. Can I hold him?"

Jack was surprised that she'd want to hold his son. "Of course." She placed a small bag on the chair. He watched as she cradled him against her chest. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"You two look beautiful." Jack wiped another tear from his cheek.

"Jack, I don't know all the details, but we'll make it work, ok?"

Jack nodded. He stood closer to her and watched Andy snuggle closer, too. Sam smiled at Jack. He couldn't hold back the ache he felt for her. Jack leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back but pulled away fearing they would squish the baby. "I brought you something." She gestured to the little bag she had put down. Jack reached for it and pulled out a little teddy bear.

"Thank you, Sam. What would I do without you?" They let the question hang in the air. After a few quiet minutes Jack said, "Unfortunately I have to go. They're going to be delivering the furniture in about an hour and I have to clear out my guest room."

"Ok. I can stay here for a little while. I guess I need to learn how to do all of this anyway."

Sam put the baby back in his bed and Jack engulfed her in a hug. "I love you, Sam."

"I love you, Jack." He kissed her again and slowly walked out the door.


	19. Chapter 19

Ok, so someone noticed my blunder about the timeline mix up. I meant to explain this before, but I wasn't sure how and I didn't want to get totally specific about details. This is why I normally stick to one shots. Anyways, Sam got pregnant 1 month after Laira, but with the time loop going on for at least 3 months Laira delivered 3 months "earlier". Are we all on the same page now? Good. More drama...

* * *

To put it simply, Jack and Sam were making out on his couch. She straddled his lap while his hands roamed her backside. They were both enjoying themselves way too much. Sam had no intentions of letting it get too far, at least not at the moment. She knew the baby would wake up soon and they wouldn't get to finish if they got too carried away. Jack, however, wanted nothing more than to take her to his room and relish her body.

Andy had woken them both up a little earlier than they had hoped and even though it was now almost lunch time they were still in their pajamas. Jack's hand slid under her tank top and attempted to unclasp her bra. "Jack, we can't." Sam stopped kissing his luscious lips.

"I don't see why not."

"Yes, you do."

"Well, I don't have to like it." He grasped her hips and pulled her directly over his aching crotch.

Sam felt the familiar bulge through their pajama bottoms. It made her weak, thinking of what they could be doing. Reflexively she ground her hips into his. It made them both groan.

"Come on, Sam! Just a quickie?"

She laughed, "I'm not sure you know the definition."

He feigned a frown. "Are you saying you don't like the length of our activities?"

"No, but you tend to take your time. Right now, we don't have any."

"Trust me, Sam. We should take advantage of every opportunity, good or bad."

"Like you did this morning?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I was enjoying my sleep all too well, when you flipped me over and proceeded to stick your finger in my…"

"Whoa! You're blaming that on me?"

"It's not like there was anyone else in the room."

"Sam, you were the one that attacked me." He couldn't hide the smile behind his shocked face.

"I did not!"

"Oh, yeah, you did."

"It was you that started it."

"No, Sam. Let me tell you what really happened. I had just gotten Andy back to sleep. I came back to bed. You rolled over and snuggled up to me. Next thing I know your hand is rubbing my crotch with an aggressive desire!"

"No, I didn't!" Sam was stunned. She couldn't believe she had done that. "You must have been dreaming that."

"Nope, I was wide awake, especially after you started assaulting me. You suddenly stopped and rolled back over."

"So, you decided to, what, get back at me?"

"No, I just finished what you started."

She crossed her arms. "I don't believe you."

"That's too bad, cuz that's what happened." It was at that moment that they heard the soft cries coming from the baby monitor.

"I'll get him. He's probably hungry." Sam got up fixed a bottle and went towards the room.

"I'm not in the mood anymore, anyway."

"Poor baby," Sam called from down the hall.

Jack stayed on the couch and started surfing the tv. He found a college football game and settled in to watch it. Before long he heard a knock on his door. He was surprised to see it was Sara. He stood there staring at her for just a moment, slightly panicking." "Sara, uh, hi."

"Hi. I'm sorry to drop by suddenly, but I was going through the attic and found this old box. I figure you'd want it. Plus, I was coming to help a friend of mine that lives over here and thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone."

He noticed she held a box in her hands. "Uh, yeah. Come on in." He took the box and placed it on the floor by the door. He knew he'd seen it before, but couldn't remember exactly what it had in it.

Sara stepped in. "How have you been?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been…kinda busy."

"Saving the world, again?"

Jack just nodded. "Something like that."

"Jack?" They both heard the voice coming from down the hall. Jack's panic level elevated.

Sam was walking down the hall holding the baby. She hadn't seen Sara, yet. "I've got to pee and he hasn't burped yet." She suddenly stopped. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry!" Sam looked at Jack apologizing silently. "I didn't know." She stood there worried. She handed the baby to Jack. "I really gotta go." Sam quickly darted back down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Well, this isn't awkward or anything," Jack tried lightly. "Come sit down. I have an interesting story to tell you."

Sara hesitated not sure whether or not she wanted to know what was going on. Jack gave her a little nudge, encouraging her.

They sat in the living room. He carefully positioned Andy on his shoulder knowing he could blow at any moment. "I know this won't be easy for you. Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Jack tried to explain everything that had happened when he got trapped off-world and that he didn't know Laira was pregnant until just a month ago.

Sara seemed to understand what she'd been told. "So, where does…" She pointed to where Sam had disappeared, confused as to why she was here.

"Sam? Well, that's another interesting story. You see, when I got back I realized that I had made a big mistake in not trusting my team to get me home. I realized I didn't want to make that mistake again."

"Isn't she on your team?"

"Not anymore."

"Does she live here?"

"No, but she's here a lot."

"And she's ok with what happened?"

"Well, she has her own demons to face and we've worked through a lot of…stuff."

Sam quietly came back and Jack saw her hesitating to join them. "Sam, you can come out now."

She came into the room and sat next to Jack. "Hi."

"Hello! Oh my god, you're pregnant, too?" Sara saw Sam's belly. She had only noticed the baby she was holding when they first came out.

"Yeah, I am." Sam rubbed her belly. "I'm about 7 months, now."

Sara looked at Jack. "You _have_ been busy."

"Oh, it's not his," She said in Jack's defense.

Jack shifted on the couch, uncomfortable with the current situation.

"So, that's not your baby, too?"

"No." Jack said.

"But you're together, now?"

"Pretty much," he answered.

"Well, this is a little weird."

"Like I said, we've worked through a lot of stuff." Jack gave Sam a small smile. Andy broke the growing silence with a loud burp. "That's my boy!"

Both women rolled their eyes.

"I should go." She stood. "Congratulations, both of you." She looked at Sam, then Jack.

He handed the baby back to Sam and followed Sara to the door. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you, really. You take care of them, all of them."

"Thanks, Sara." Jack pulled her in for a hug and gave her a kiss on her cheek. After she left Jack let out the breath he'd been holding for 20 minutes.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked.

Jack nodded.

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, I know that was hard for her."

"I'm really sorry, Jack. I didn't know she was here."

Jack walked over to Sam and put his arms around her and his son. "It's alright. She was going to find out eventually. Why wait?" Jack softly placed a hand on Andy's back. The baby smiled. "Now, that, I can get used to."

"I'm glad, now he needs a diaper change." She pushed Andy towards Jack.

"Ugh!" Jack reluctantly took the baby.

"I'll make lunch."

"Ooh! I like lunch! Come on, little guy. Let's get you cleaned up.


	20. Chapter 20

This story will be coming to an end soon. I think I might have 3 more chapters left. Here's a little filler.

* * *

"You would not believe the phone call I just got!" Jack had joined Sam in her lab. Sam had taken a week off to help Jack get settled in with the baby, but Jack took a whole month. They were both back to work doing what they do best. Jack had a difficult time leaving Andy with a nanny, but trusted her credentials immensely. "Some guy says he knows all about the Stargate and wants to meet my team face to face."

"That's strange. How does he know?"

"I don't know, but the General has ordered us to take care of it. Will you be able to help the nanny until we get back? This could take a couple of days."

"Of course!"

"Thanks. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm ok. I have to pee all the time, I'm hungry all the time, my back always hurts, and to top it all off, I can never get enough sleep."

"Ah, well, I'm sure this will pass." Jack smiled, but Sam wasn't amused. "So, I'll keep you updated. Thanks again for helping with Andy. I'll see you soon." He started for the door.

Sam reached out and grabbed his hand before he got too far. "Not so fast!" She expected a goodbye kiss.

"Here?"

She nodded.

"I like the way you think, Major." He leaned down and kissed her. Sam wasn't satisfied. She grabbed the back of his neck and made sure they had a good goodbye. "Hmm, maybe I'll see if I can stay."

Sam smiled. "Get out of here." Jack grumbled. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too! I love you, Sam." He looked into her eyes.

"I love you." He gave her another kiss. "Bye."

"Bye."

Sam went back to working on the device Jack's team had "borrowed" from the Russians when they took control of the other gate. It seemed the Russians had found something that could create a personal force shield. Sam was just trying to get it to turn on.

An hour later Janet came into Sam's lab. "Hey!"

"Hi."

"What are you working on?"

"This force shield thingy. It looks like the batteries are dead. I don't know how to charge it. I wish I could get my hands on more of those crystals the Tok'Ra use. I bet it could make it work."

"Next time I visit I'll be sure to ask. I came by to tell you it's time for your check up."

"Oh, yeah. I lost track of time again."

"It's alright. I like getting out of the infirmary sometimes. Ready?"

"Yes. Do you happen to need a urine sample? Cuz I gotta go."

"Not this time, no. I'll go to the mess hall and grab us both a little snack. Meet you back in my office?"

"I like that plan!" The two women went their separate directions.

After they had met up again, Sam was lying on Janet's exam table in a private room. She spread a small tape measure across Sam's belly. "You're measuring 30 weeks. 10 more to go!"

"It feels like I've been pregnant for forever!"

"You'll get through it. You could go up to 2 weeks early and the baby be totally fine. I still can't believe you don't want to know the sex."

"There are few surprises left in life. I'm going to wait. I'm prepared for either a boy or a girl for a few days and all I have to do is complete my order for the rest of the things and it will all be here in a week."

"Ok! It's your decision. But it makes it really hard for everyone else to throw you a baby shower!"

"Baby shower?"

"You didn't think we would forget, did you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it."

"I'm actually letting Cassie plan it. She's having so much fun! It's next Saturday. You're not busy, are you?"

"I am now, I guess. Thank you, Janet."

"It's my pleasure! Now, would you like to hear the heart beat again?" Janet held up the mini Doppler.

"It's my favorite part!" Sam listened as Janet zoned in on the baby's rapid heartbeat.

"It's nice and strong, Sam! Just like Mom. By the way, it's time to start coming up with a birthing plan."

"I've looked at a few options. What would you recommend?"

"Well, I haven't really delivered very many babies. I've assisted in a few, but I didn't really do much. We have good OB's at the hospital. Any one of them would be good for you. But, I would suggest an epidural. I mean I wouldn't want to go through all that."

"I was thinking about that. I think I might want to try going without one. I'll leave the option open, but I could at least give it a try."

Janet was surprised. "You are one brave woman!"

"In case you've forgotten, I have been in some pretty painful situations, before. I know this one takes the cake, but women have and still do go natural. If I ever get to have more, maybe I'll get the epidural then."

"Whatever you say, Sam." Janet groped Sam's belly trying to feel for the baby's body parts. "So, right now the baby is breach. It's not a bad thing, though. You have a lot of time and babies move."

"I figured it was something like that. I've had a little trouble breathing today and I can't sit down without sitting straight up. It usually moves around when I lay on my side. It's probably just gravity."

"Have you had any contractions?"

"Isn't it too soon for that?" Sam suddenly got scared!

"No, they're called Braxton-Hick's contractions. Many women experience a few during the last months. It's sort of like your body is telling you what is going to happen soon. They're nothing to worry about so long as they don't last very long. But if you notice they grow in duration and intensity, then you should call me. We can figure out if it's cause for alarm."

"Ok. Does the hospital let me get up and move around?"

"Yes, as long as neither of you are in any danger, we let you try to get as comfortable as possible. The only thing we don't do is water births. The facility just isn't set up for it. It's a fairly new trend."

"I wasn't really interested in one, anyway. I also don't want a C-Section. The recovery sounds worse than going natural."

"Yes, taking care of a newborn is more difficult when you've had a C-Section. We try to prevent those, as well. Do you have any more questions?"

"Not today. I need to learn more about birthing plans. Figure out what I want and stuff."

"Have you been exercising and taking your vitamins?"

"Yes, Dr. Fraser." Sam laughed.

"Good, I'll need to see you in 4 more weeks. Oh, I almost forgot. I do need a small blood sample." She went to the cabinet to pull out her supplies.

Sam held out her arm. "I have scars from how many times I've had my blood drawn and IV's."

"Well, at least they're for good causes." Janet finished and said Sam could go.

"I'll see you later for lunch?"

"I heard it's chicken fried steak day. I love the gravy!"

"Me, too. See you later."

"Bye."

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'C were gone for 3 more days. Sam made sure Andy was taken care of and when Jack returned he had quite a story for her.

"How did we miss him on our radar and satellites?"

"They had some pretty nice cloaking thingy. His ship blew up, but I'm kinda hoping we can recover something from his planet. We'd have to look at the cities further away from the Stargate, but that would require a spaceship to go those distances."

"I'm sure the Tok'Ra would want something like that, too. I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too. When I got back General Hammond already told me about my next mission!" Jack couldn't hide his excitement! "The modified Death Glider is finished and Teal'C and I get to test fly it!"

Sam frowned. "I wish I could go. It sounds like a lot of fun. I was looking at the specs and checking their systems. There's not much I can do from here."

"Don't worry, Sam. You'll be back in action before you know it." He pulled her in for a hug being careful of her growing stomach. "I really missed you."

"Me, too. I saved a Simpson's episode for you."

"Be still my heart!" He kissed her and they sat down to watch it.


	21. Chapter 21

Credit for most of this goes to the writers of SG-1

* * *

"Sam, I am so excited about this!" Jack was giddy as Sam, Daniel, and Major Davis stood on the runway waiting for Teal'C to pass by.

"I'm sure you are." Sam knew she couldn't hide her disappointment from Jack.

"Come on, we talked about this. You'll be up there in no time!"

Sam rubbed her belly almost unconsciously. "I know, but I wanna ride, too!"

"Now you're sounding like a spoiled brat."

"So?"

Jack smiled. "Teal'C sure is taking his time, isn't he?"

"Teal'C was ordered to push the envelope. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Sam said looking towards the sky.

Jack held up his binoculars. "Well, that'd be nice."

"Where else would he go?" Daniel asked.

"Good point." Jack answered. They turned as the sound of a jeep approached. "Well, here we go."

Sam stood at attention as best as she could. The car emptied it's VIP passengers and they all gave their introductions. As Teal'C flew by a couple of times Sam tried her best to explain what made it work. She had worked on a few of the control systems, but wasn't entirely familiar with the new craft. They watched as Jack and Teal'C boarded the X-301 then left to the converted control room. She didn't want to admit it, but Sam was worried. She thought back to the conversation from this morning.

 _"I have a bad feeling about today, Jack. Can't we postpone this until we know more?" They were still in bed. Neither of them wanted to get up, but Jack was due at the base in less than an hour._

 _"You know we can't afford to wait." Jack reminded her._

 _"Then, can't someone else do the test?"_

 _"Teal'C and I are a good team. We're the most familiar with it. You've worked on it. Don't you trust your own work?"_

 _"It's not that. I can't explain it. I just have a bad feeling."_

 _"We'll be ok, Sam." He lifted his arm as an invitation for her to snuggle up closer. It was easier said than done with her growing belly in the way. She managed to find the perfect spot on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her._

"Request permission to proceed with weapon's test?" Jack's muffled radio voice came through.

Davis took lead. "You're a go, Digger One."

"Proceeding to target area." Teal'C announced.

"Copy that. You're a go for phase 2." Sam had sat in a control room during test flights and training missions so she had a good grasp with how things worked.

Daniel looked at the radar screen. "That's them?"

"The X-301 is equipped with stealth technology which normally wouldn't show up on radar, so we've installed a special transmitter for the test." Davis was clearly proud of the work he'd done getting this machine off the ground.

"These blips represent the target drones. X-301 is carrying 2 AIM-120A air-to-air missiles." Sam explained.

Vidrine looked worried. "Major, are you suggesting a slammer missile would be capable of taking out a Goa'uld mother ship?"

This time Sam was proud of her own work. She tried her best to hold back her excitement. "If it's armed with a naquadah-enhanced warhead, and modified with a shield frequency modulator, yes, Sir!"

The next hour went by in frightening slow motion for Sam. She felt like she was watching Jack and Teal'C float away to their deaths. But, she had to keep herself together if she was going to bring them back. Plus, she didn't want to jeopardize her pregnancy with any stress.

After the missile burn fail, Sam was out of ideas. She went over to the infirmary to lie down and think. "Sam? Is everything ok?" Janet had just come in.

"Yes, I just needed a place to think. I knew something would happen. I was so worried and now they're gonna die out there." Sam began to cry.

"No, they're not, Sam. We'll think of something. You need to calm down."

She got about an hour of sleep before everyone was called into a meeting. They tried thinking of ways to maximize life support but time was still running out.

"The Tollan don't have a space craft fast enough or close enough to get there within a year." Daniel said dejectedly.

"And the Tok'Ra?" Hammond asked.

"Uh…yeah! I spoke with Anise personally. She said they had a scout ship within a day or so of earth. Barely. But it's on a covert mission to a Goa'uld-occupied world, and the High Council doesn't want to expose their operative by…making…contact."

"Then, why would they bother to tell you that much?" Davis asked, annoyed.

"They hope that the operative will complete the mission and report back in time to help Jack and Teal'C." Daniel said.

"I assume Anise refused to say where and what this covert mission was." Hammond said.

Daniel continued, "And to understand not wanting to jeopardize the life of a Tok'Ra important to both of us. I mean, I sort of lost my temper, but she said she was doing us a favor by telling us as much as she did." He was upset just remembering the conversation.

Sam suddenly felt hopeful. "Maybe she was." They looked at her not understanding. "I mean, we know a scout ship's maximum speed from our mission to Netu. We also know it's a Goa'uld-occupied world relatively close to Earth, so…"

"So, that narrows it down." Davis finished.

"Yes, it does. Sir, with your permission…"

"Granted!" General Hammond temporarily forgot his favorite Major was still 7 months pregnant. "Wait! You can't go!"

"Like Hell, I can't!" Sam exclaimed. Nothing was going to stand in her way now. Daniel followed her out of the Briefing room before General Hammond had a chance to say anything more.

They were geared up and ready in 20 minutes. "Sam, I understand that you want to save him, but are you sure this is safe?"

"Daniel, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do this." Sam started crying again.

"Hey, it's ok. We'll save them!"

She nodded and Daniel wiped away her tears. "Ready?"

"Let's roll."

Hammond was not happy letting her walk through that gate, much less letting her walk into a potentially dangerous situation. He had to break a few rules and hold himself back while trusting her and Daniel to get all of SG-1 home safely. He would just have to leave this part out of his report to the higher ups.

As Sam and Daniel crawled through the darkness they used their night vision goggles to get a plan going. "We may have to go in through the mine."

"What about contacting the operative by radio?" Daniel had barely finished his sentence when they heard a noise. Instinctively they both tried to make themselves as small as possible.

They opened their eyes and found themselves in a ship. Carter quickly got into her stance and pointed her gun towards the door. She silently prayed it was who she thought it was.

It opened revealing a very angry Jacob. "Are you out of your minds?! What the hell are you two doing here?!" Jacob became even more alarmed when he saw that Sam was still sporting a very pregnant belly.

"We were looking for you."

"Well, you better have a damn good reason because I was twenty minutes away from detonating a weapon's grade shipment of Naquadah that would have vaporized a sizable chunk of this planet! Now if I hadn't spotted you two coming through the Stargate…"

Sam was worried, "You saw us?"

"Yes, the ship was cloaked. 'Was' being the operative word. Now, they know we're here."

Sam didn't let him continue. "Colonel O'Neill and Teal'C need your help."

He had heard this before. "What happened?"

"They're stranded in a disabled glider headed into space." Daniel said.

"This was the only ship within range."

Jacob stood there and thought for a moment. "Good enough. Well, let's go." He stared at his only daughter. "Sam, why are you still pregnant? And who let you come on this mission?"

"Remember the time loop we went through? It bought me some extra time, for you at least. And no one was going to stop me from saving him…them." She managed to cover her slip up from her dad, but Daniel caught it and understood that Jacob didn't know about her and Jack. He nodded at her trying to convey that he wouldn't tell him.

Sam stood on pins and needles as they approached the X-301. She had been through way too much since Jack and Teal'C lost control and went flying through space. But the last few minutes were excruciating! "Digger One, this is Carter. Do you read?" They waited.

"Are we too late?" Jacob asked.

Sam released the breath she was holding. "I think they're unconscious."

"Well, we have to wake them up somehow."

"Dammit, Colonel! We haven't come all this way to take you home in a box, now wake up!" She was starting to feel anxious again.

Jacob had an idea. "Let me give them a nudge." As he did so they saw Jack stir.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

Disoriented, he looked around, "Carter?" He finally saw the scout ship. "Carter!"

"Yes, Sir!" Sam smiled excitedly!

"Hi!"

"Hi, Sir. We're going to find a way to get you back home safe and warm. What's your reserve oxygen status?"

"Uh…I don't…what?"

"What's your reserve oxygen status?" she asked slower.

"Carter, is that you?"

Sam got worried again. "Sir, we're over here ready to bring you home, but you're going to have to trust me." She turned off the radio. "He's suffering from anoxia, oxygen deprivation." She switched it back on. "Do you trust me, sir?"

"Sure!" He said slightly giddy.

"Good! Is Teal'C conscious?"

"Teal'C?" Jack threw a pen at him. "Teal'C?"

"O'Neill?"

"Look, it's Carter! She wants to talk to you!"

"Major Carter. Little oxygen remains."

"Cabin pressure?" she asked.

"Also very low."

"We copy that. So we want you to do exactly what we say. First, remove your restraints. Then on my mark, blow the canopy of the glider and push off."

"We will die!" Teal'C sounded confident.

"Negative! It'll be all right if it's only for a few seconds." Sam was sure this plan would work.

Jacob took over. "Teal'C, the only way we can bring you aboard is with the ring transporter. That means you have to be clear of the glider. You got it?"

"I understand."

"Good, I need you at least 5 meters from the scout ship, close together. Stand by until I get into position."

"Jacob, is that you?" Jack sounded worse.

"Yes, it is, Jack. Now do what we tell you."

"Do you know your ship's bigger than ours?"

Sam was nervous. "Colonel, we need you to concentrate."

"Blow the canopy."

"On my mark, not before."

"Right!"

"Make sure your helmets are secure and set your oxygen at 100%. You'll need to pre-breathe the last of it in deep breaths holding each one in. You'll need to power the system before you blow the canopy. Then disconnect the umbilical and exhale as much as possible. Stand by!"

Jack moved his ship over the glider. "We're in position. Stand by in the hold."

"Colonel, Teal'C? Are you ready?" This was their last chance. Sam knew that if this didn't work they would both die. If they didn't try it, they would both die. Sam prepared herself in case the worst was about to happen.

"Ready!"

"Three…two…one…mark!"

Sam stood in the hold waiting for the rings to finish coming back. Her heart leapt as she saw both figures standing inside the rings. Once they disappeared into the floor, Teal'C and Jack collapsed. She rushed to Jack as Daniel went for Teal'C.

"They're all right!" Daniel yelled.

"Flight, this is Digger Two. We have Colonel O'Neill and Teal'C aboard. They're both alive!" Jacob called through the radio. He prepared for hyperspace toward earth.

Sam held Jack's head in her lap. "Welcome aboard!" They both smiled. Sam got closer and kissed him. She refused to let him go, but knew he needed all the oxygen he could get right now.

It was enough to wake him up and realize something. "Carter, what the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't have come!" Jack reached over to rub her stomach. "You could have been hurt! What would I do if something had happened to you both?"

"Jack, I'm ok. We're both ok. I couldn't let anyone else try this rescue. I couldn't have lived with myself constantly thinking there was always something more that could have been done."

Jack reached up and grabbed her neck. He pulled her in for another kiss.

"Sam?"

Jack and Sam both turned to see Jacob standing in the doorway wondering why his daughter was kissing her CO. She suddenly got very worried, but Jack managed to lighten the tension.

"Hey…Jacob…Thanks for stopping by!" Jack tried sitting up.

"What the hell? I was in the neighborhood. Ya need a lift home?"

"Yes, Sir. Thank you."

"Uh, I really gotta pee. I'll be back." Sam slowly stood, still not sure about what her dad saw.

After she left the room Jack silently told Teal'C and Daniel to get lost. They went and sat at the controls. "Hey, Jacob, I need to talk to you."

"I should say the same thing! What the hell are you doing kissing her?"

"Well, she's too damn beautiful not to, if you need me to be honest. Besides, I'm in love with her."

Jacob was taken back by that last statement. "Excuse me?"

"It's what I want to talk to you about, actually." Jack crawled over to the wall where a ledge was and slowly got up on it. "Jacob, I want to ask you for permission to marry your daughter."

"What? Are you sure you're feeling better?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"Does she feel the same?"

"I think so. We've been through so much lately. That's got to mean something."

"Jack, how do I know you can make her happy? How are you going to take care of her? You nearly got yourselves killed from a test flight."

"That's the thing. This was going to be my last mission. My retirement papers are on Hammond's desk right now. I'm done."

"Why? You don't have to retire?"

"I do. I was going to tell Sam tonight."

"Tell me what?" She had come back from the bathroom. Sam went to sit next to Jack, but not too close.

Jack decided the jig was up. He scooted closer to her. "Sam, General Hammond and I have agreed it's time for me to retire…again. You rescue the world and I'll take care of the kids."

"Jack, you don't have to do that. It's worked out so far."

"But it won't for very long, Sam. You're going to have that baby soon and things will be twice as hard. Trust me. Besides, how many times do I have to retire before they leave me alone?"

"Oh, Jack!" She threw her arms around him.

Jack couldn't help but look to Jacob to make sure he was watching. Sam finally let him go. Jacob stepped closer to Jack and held out his hand. Jack's grip was weak, but still enough to connect with Jacob. "Jack, I wish you all the luck." He did his best to hide his true meaning from Sam, but he was sure Jack got the message loud and clear.


	22. Chapter 22

I think I might have one more coming!

* * *

Sam woke up in her own bed. It would be the last time. Jack and Sam had done a lot of talking during the last weeks of her pregnancy. They had both decided that moving into Jack's house would be the best way for him to take care of everyone. She still had more than 2 weeks until her due date, but she was feeling like a whale. Everything was more difficult. Sam realized that the simplest things like brushing her teeth were challenging. She was ready to get this baby out and start getting her body back to feeling normal. Besides, she was especially ready to meet her baby!

Teal'C and Daniel had helped her pack up her things. She was happy Jack allowed her to switch out most of the furniture. His house already had less of a bachelor pad feel. They had prepared Andy's room to accommodate Sam's baby, too. It would be a little snug but all they would do is sleep in there. The rest of the house worked more as a play area. The babies wouldn't be playing any time soon, so they had time.

Sam rolled over and thought about what it would be like for their kids to play and live together. Would they be able to blend? Would Jack and Sam be able to take care of them? Both babies are so young. Sam admired parents of twins and multiples. It made her feel like if they could do it, so could she and Jack.

Her house was mostly empty now. A small suitcase and her bed was all she would take with her today. The boys would come pick up the very last of it over the weekend. Her home sold quicker than she had imagined and luckily it came with a nice price tag.

After she peed and showered and peed again Sam left for work. She had been on half days for almost 2 weeks and this would be her last day until after she returned from maternity leave in 3 months. She knew she would miss this place. She would miss the chaos, the challenges, and seeing the Stargate come to life.

As she stepped into her office her phone rang. "Carter."

"Hey, it's me." Hearing Jack's voice always made her feel good.

"Hey."

"I can't wait for tonight."

"Why? What's so special about tonight?"

"Well, I know that you'll never sleep in another bed again."

"I've slept at your place more often than my own for a while now."

"It's not the same."

Sam could hear Andy in the background. "How are you two doing?"

"He misses you."

"I bet." Her sarcasm didn't go unnoticed.

"It's true. You're much prettier to look at than I am."

"That doesn't take much."

"Ouch!" Jack pretended to be offended. "What time are you coming home?"

Home. The word had all new meaning for her now. "I don't know for sure. I might go to lunch with Janet. She's got some plans that will keep her busy for the next few days. This could be our last chance for a long time."

"Then you should make sure you do. It would be good for both of you."

"Yeah, I guess. Ouch!"

"What?"

"This baby just decided to take over my rib cage. I may have to work while laying on my side all morning."

"Take it easy. You don't have to save the world today, ya know."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss you."

"But you saw me last night. Not even 12 hours ago."

"So?"

"Does Andy need a diaper change?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's 3 months old and you still gag at a poopy diaper. You really need to get over that."

"You know me too well."

Sam pondered on that. She did, she realized. "I gotta go. The sooner I get this last project done, the sooner I can see you again."

"Well, don't let me get in your way. I love you."

"I love you. See ya later."

"Bye."

Sam went to focus on her last project. She was working on a computer program that would help boost the speed of the dialing computer. She was really close to finishing it, too. She knew she wouldn't be able to rest during her maternity leave if she didn't get it done. Surprisingly, the program was the easy part. What made it difficult was her back. She just couldn't get into a comfortable position. Every few minutes her back would protest and she'd have to shift around again. The frequent bathroom breaks didn't help either.

Just when Janet came in to ask if she wanted to go to lunch Sam ran the final simulation. "Hey, are you ready for lunch?"

"I think so, but this still needs a real time test. I just need to ask if any teams are leaving in the next few minutes. I'd love to see it in action."

"Oh, I know what that means. We'll never get out of here."

"No, Janet. I won't let that happen. Not this time. I promise, if a team isn't ready to go out in less than 20 minutes, we'll leave and I'll have to settle with a second hand report. My back is really killing me and I'm starving."

"What's wrong with your back?"

"Nothing. I should have gotten a stool with a backrest. Sitting on this old thing isn't the greatest. But it won't matter anymore. I'm done!"

"Are you sure? It wouldn't take very long to check you out."

"Yes, I'm sure! Now let's go ask."

Fortunately for Sam SG-12 was just about to disembark. They gave Sam just enough time to update the dialing program. She was ecstatic to learn her hard work had paid off. She left Walter with the final details and followed Janet to the top.

"Will you drive? I can barely fit behind the wheel, now."

"Of course," Janet laughed. "But what about your car?"

"Daniel and Jack can get it later. I think it's safe."

"Ok, where to, then?"

"Uh, the diner down the road. I'm really hungry." Sam grunted as she got into Janet's car. "This baby seems to like to kick my ribs and push onto my bladder at the same time."

"There's not much room in there, Sam. It's gotta go somewhere."

"I know, but it still hurts."

"Does your back feel any better?"

"It comes and goes. Just depends on how I'm sitting or standing."

"How often does it come and go?" Janet quickly slipped into Dr. mode.

"Uh, I haven't been paying that much attention."

"Sam, I can't be sure without giving you a real exam, but it's possible you're in the early stages of labor. Now, don't be alarmed. From what you're describing these kinds of symptoms could go on for days. They could also progress very quickly and it's possible you could have this baby before it's even bed time."

"I know you're the doctor, but I think I would know if I was in labor."

Janet rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sam. I'm going to make sure I have my phone on me at all times now. I'm not going to take any chances."

Sam didn't want to admit that Janet might be right. She wanted this baby out, but knowing what labor really meant scared her. "If you say so."

The two friends enjoyed their lunch. Sam's eyes were bigger than her stomach now that the baby took residence of her lower half. She was sad that she couldn't finish the cheeseburger and fries. As Janet paid their tabs at the counter Sam felt a weird sensation that started in her lower back. It felt like someone or something was wiggling their fingers from her back and around both sides of her stomach. It was certainly the strangest thing she'd ever felt. It didn't hurt, but it creeped her out. Maybe this is what Janet had talked to her about a few months ago. What did she call it? Boston Jinks contractions? Something like that.

Janet came back. "Ready?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Is everything ok?" Janet knew her friend enough to know something wasn't quite right.

"Yes, I just need to burp or something." Sam tried to lie, but wasn't sure Janet believed her.

"I'll take you home and I'm ordering a nap! No debating!"

"I don't think I could if I tried." Sam stood and wobbled behind Janet through the door.

When they got to Jack's house Janet made sure Sam went straight to bed. "Colonel, I need you to pay close attention to Sam now."

"Why? Is something wrong?" Jack was worried.

"No, it's just…"

"What?"

"I think she's in labor."

"Then let's go to the hospital."

"No, not yet. It could also be a false alarm. Just watch her. She's been having strange back pain all day. If it doesn't stop now that she's lying down then it's very likely that she really is in labor. If it does stop then she should be fine for a day or so. If the pain comes back later have her change positions, walk around, do anything that might make them stop. If they don't stop, start timing them. Write it all down. When everything started, how long they last, and if it's happening every 5 minutes call me. I'll be right over. The early stage of labor lasts the longest. It could be a while before we need to get her to the hospital. Ok?"

Jack ran his hand through his hair. "Are you sure?"

Janet smiled. "Yes, Sir. We could be waiting for hours. Also, if she doesn't have a hospital bag yet, get it done. Now. Do you still have that book I gave you last month?"

"Uh, yes."

"You didn't read it?"

"Uh, no."

"Don't worry. Find the list of things to take in the back of the book. And don't forget a few snacks for yourself. She might want you to stay with her the whole time."

"Anything else?"

"Get some rest. Trust me. It's exactly what I'm going to do. Just in case." Janet squeezed his arm to reassure him and turned for the door.

"Uh, Doc?"

"Hmm?" She turned back.

"Thanks."

* * *

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Sam shouted at Jack as he stood by her.

He looked over to the other side of the bed where Daniel held her other hand. Teal'C opted to stay in the waiting room with Andy and the nanny.

"Sam, breathe!" Jack tried to remain calm, but seeing her go through this was pure torture. "And really, you can't blame me."

"Go to hell!" Sam was sweating and her face was bright red. Between contractions She laid back and rested. Her grip on Jack and Daniel's hands relaxed and gave them a chance to shake out the pain. She was calm now and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jack."

"It's ok. Don't worry about it, just keep breathing. We'll meet your baby really soon! Focus on your baby, Sam."

"He's right," Janet added. She was right, too. Sam went into full labor after her water broke around dinnertime. It was now past midnight and everyone was exhausted. "You just need one more really good push, Sam!"

Sam was mildly proud of herself. She had gone through with her original plan of trying it without the epidural, but she did allow them to give her a few things to help her feel more comfortable. Those wore off just as it was time for her to push. The last 30 minutes were the worst she's ever experienced. Sam could feel the contraction coming. Everyone braced themselves for the last of it.

"Push, Sam!" Jack cried.

"The head is all the way out, now. We're almost done." Janet used the suction bulb to clear the baby's airway. "Just the shoulders and it's all over! Now, push again!"

Sam gave one final push with everything she had left.

"Oh, Sam!" Jack said!

"What is it?" She was out of breath.

Janet held up the baby so Sam could see. "You have a daughter, Sam!"

She collapsed against the bed. Her glowing smile radiated throughout the room. Jack wiped the last remnants of sweat from her forehead and squeezed her hand. "Congratulations, Mom!"

The baby began to cry. The sound of her child's screams was music to Sam's ears. Sam started to cry, too. The mixed emotions of elation, exhaustion, and love for her child flooded her face.

Janet took the baby to the corner of the room to take her vitals. Daniel had followed. "She's beautiful, Sam." Daniel had stayed quiet during the last few hours knowing his place was to simply be there. He had made sure to stay out of view of his friend's nether regions, too.

"Daniel, pictures, please!" Sam couldn't say more than one word at a time. Daniel quickly reached for his camera ready to capture the first few minutes of the little girl's life. Sam turned to Jack. "I love you, Jack!"

He kissed her. "I love you, Sam." They waited until Janet brought the baby back to her. She placed the still naked child across Sam's mostly bare chest.

The little one enjoyed the warmth of her mother and soon settled against her. Sam held onto her daughter. She had never felt such joy before.

Daniel, Jack, and Janet stood watching as they bonded. Daniel occasionally took a picture, but for a few minutes they were quiet. Jack looked to Daniel and gave him the signal. Sam didn't notice Daniel had slipped out until he brought Teal'C and Andy in with him.

"Congratulations, Major Carter." He bounced Andy in his arms and moved over closer to her.

"Thank you, Teal'C."

He simply bowed.

Jack placed his hand over Sam's as she rubbed the tiny baby's back. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes. "Sam, I couldn't think of a better time than this to tell you how much you mean to me. You've made me into a better man and there's no one in the entire universe I'd rather be with. I'd be nothing without you and you've saved my life in more ways than one."

Sam lay there wondering why he was saying all of this now, with Daniel, Teal'C and Janet watching them. But suddenly she understood.

Jack couldn't get on one knee or he'd be too short because of the bed, so he stood there, pulled out a little red box, and asked, "Samantha Carter, will you marry me?" He opened the little box to reveal a sparkling oval diamond set in a white gold ring.

"Oh!" She gasped. Sam looked to her friends. Their faces beamed with excitement! "I…uh…I…Jack!" Though she didn't say anything else she did have a beautiful smile. She could only nod at Jack who kissed her.

Daniel captured the special moment when the little family began.

"So, what are you going to name her, Sam?" Janet asked.

"I like Hannah. Hannah O'Neill." Sam said looking at Jack.

"But, Sam." Jack was both confused and honored.

"It doesn't matter where she came from, Jack. You've been her father from the start. Besides, if we're going to get married she'll get your name eventually. This just makes it easier."

Janet had to wipe a tear from her cheek. "Oh, it's so beautiful!"

"Do you want to hold her, Jack?" Sam asked him.

"Of course!" He carefully lifted the little girl into his arms. He took her over to the warmer to wrap her up completely then walked around the room.

Janet turned to her friend. "Sam, it's time to get you all cleaned up. We'll take the baby, Hannah, to the nursery and you can all get some sleep."

"Janet, thank you so much!"

"It was my pleasure!"

Daniel took a few pictures of Jack and Hannah. Teal'C placed Andy in Jack's other arm and Daniel took a few more pictures. Then he then went to Sam. "Good night, Sam. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Daniel."

Teal'C bowed again, took Andy and left the room.

"I can't believe how lucky I am to have so many people around me," Sam said to Jack.

The nurse took Hannah to the nursery and Jack sat in a chair by Sam. "I know what you mean. We're a pretty strange bunch, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! I love you so much!"

Sam smiled as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Here it is, the very last chapter! I have never written anything this long. It's been a good challenge. This is also the longest chapter I've ever written. Thank you to everyone that's read and reviewed. It has been nice to get the feedback. Please, enjoy!

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"Jonathan O'Neill, do you take Samantha Carter as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The minister stood before the happy couple.

"I do!" Jack answered quickly and almost too anxiously. He bounced on his feet trying to shake off the embarrassment. Sam awarded him with her beautiful smile.

"Samantha Carter, do you take Jonathan O'Neill as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

The simple words of her vows echoed in her mind. Sam never thought she'd be standing here with Jack while all their friends watched as she made the biggest decision of her life. Her strapless gown was chosen with utmost care, her hair was perfectly fixed, and she had even splurged for a professional make up artist. Sam wasn't much of a girly girl, but she wanted this part to be perfect. Without any reservation she confidently answered, "I do."

"May I have the rings, please?" The minister said. Daniel handed them to him. "Now, Jack, place this ring on her third finger of her left hand and repeat after me. With this ring, I seal my promise, to be your faithful husband. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."

As Jack held Sam's hand he looked into her sparkling blue eyes. "With this ring…" he paused and cleared his throat. "I seal my promise, to be your faithful husband. I will love…"

She could see that Jack was having a hard time and for the first time she saw a tear stroll down his face. He quickly brushed it away.

"I will love and honor you all the days of my life." He had to fight back the urge to run away with her right that second. They both smiled.

"Sam," the minister continued, " place this ring on his third finger of his left hand and repeat after me. With this ring, I seal my promise, to be your faithful wife. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."

"Jack, with this ring, I seal my promise, to be your faithful wife. I will love and honor you all the days of my life." Sam had to wipe the tears from her face, too.

"Ladies and gentlemen, by authority given to me by the State of Colorado it is my privilege to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill!" He looked to Jack, "You may now kiss the bride!"

Jack and Sam lit up as the room erupted in cheers. They, too, had waited for this day for a long time. Jack stepped closer to her, careful of her dress. He wrapped one arm around her back and another behind her neck and he gracefully dipped her back and gave her a beautiful kiss. Again, their guests clapped and cheered! Jack stayed there just a fraction longer and gently stood her up again. He pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you!" he whispered.

"I love you!" she whispered back. "Let's get out of here."

"My thoughts exactly!" Jack didn't wait for any more instructions or permission. Sam reached for her bouquet that Janet had been holding and they held hands as they practically ran out of the church.

They had only an hour before their reception began. They had decided to hide behind the reception hall in their limo while everyone else dealt with the details. Jack had proposed to Sam just after she gave birth to their daughter. That was just over a year ago. She had done all the planning during her time off and as she sat nursing the baby. Daniel, Teal'C and Janet helped gather materials and it seemed the last 2 months were filled with the last details. As they waited Jack's hand crept up her bare leg under her dress.

"Jack, don't get too frisky."

"Didn't you hear the minister? I'm allowed to, now." He leaned into her placing gentle kisses along her collarbone.

"Mmm," she hummed with delight, "but we have a bunch of people waiting in there for us.

"Let 'em wait." His hand found his ultimate goal. He slowly stroked her folds through her panties. He could feel they weren't her normal pair, either.

"I mean it, Jack. We're in the back of a limo for cryin' out loud!"

"Hey, that's my line, and it doesn't really matter. I arranged for the driver to get lost. You've made me wait for a whole week. I don't think I can take another minute."

Sam knew he was ready to blow. She insisted they remained sex free for the last week. She wanted to have a really amazing honeymoon. It would be short because of their children, but Sam was determined. "You've waited a week, I'm sure you can wait a few more hours."

"Ugh!" he grunted as he buried his face in her chest. Jack tried to convince her further but it was all in vain.

She grabbed his face from her cleavage. "I promise, just a few more hours."

"Fine," he relented. "But…"

She kissed him, "No buts."

"Ok, ok!" He pulled his hand out of her dress.

"Are you ready?"

"No, I have to sit here for a few more minutes."

"Why? Oh!" Sam blushed as she caught sight of the bulge in his pants. "I could start reciting astrophysicists theories."

"That might not be a bad idea."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill!" The DJ announced their entrance to the reception room and everyone erupted once again.

Sam first saw Hannah and Andy being held by Teal'C and Daniel. She had missed her babies already. Cassie had pulled them down the aisle in a little wagon decorated for the ceremony. She and Jack went straight to them. They weren't too happy about all the noise surrounding them but they were both happy to see their parents.

Everyone continued enjoying cocktail hour as Jack and Sam made their way around the room greeting all of their friends and family. Sam's dad was able to make it just in time to give her away. "It was a very beautiful ceremony, Sammy! I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thanks, Dad!" Sam hugged him knowing their visit would be short. Her brother stood next to him.

"I don't really know him, but I can see he makes you happy!" Mark said.

"Yes, he does! I never knew I could feel like this."

"Congratulations, sis." Sam and her brother hugged. "I wish you both the best of luck."

"Thank you, Mark."

During lunch the kids were taken to another room so that they could nap. They all enjoyed a buffet since no one could agree on a menu. Sam was happy she didn't have to stress out about that detail and as they all finished their food Daniel tapped his fork on his champagne flute. "I'd like give a toast to the amazing bride and groom!" He only had to wait a minute before the room was quiet enough. The DJ handed him a microphone. "I've known Jack and Sam for a while now and working together has brought us all very close. Of course, they grew closer together than the rest of us did, but I am grateful for the opportunity to know them. I've learned many things from Jack about life and love and right and wrong. But there's one thing that I'll always admire about you, Jack, is that you never cease to inspire me. And lastly, a quote I found by Lao Tzu, 'To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.' Sam, I know you'll need all the courage in the world to put up with an old fart like Jack. Congratulations! And good luck!"

Jack glared at Daniel as he sat down, but their guests clapped and laughed knowing full well what Daniel meant.

Janet stood next already in tears. "Working with Sam and the Colonel has been a wonderful experience in my life. I feel honored to have them apart of it. I wish you both the utmost joy. I know you'll make each other laugh every day. Congratulations!"

Jacob stood and looked over to Jack. "Do I even have to say it?" Everyone laughed again. "Jack, this is my only daughter. You treat her like a queen every day or I'll break your kneecaps. Sam, honey, I love you and I hope I don't have to hurt your husband." Jacob's face turned serious. "May you both experience the blessings that come from true happiness. To the bride and groom!" Jacob raised his glass high and the guests followed suit.

"To the bride and groom!"

Sam stood and kissed her dad on the cheek. Jack stood up beside her. He took the microphone and said, "Daniel, you, too have inspired me to bang my head on the wall every time you find a new toy. Janet, it's always a pleasure being stabbed with needles by you, and Jacob, I promise to love Sam with all my heart. Sam?" He handed her the mike.

"You guys are making me cry! I am so lucky to have all of you here. Never in a million years did I think that I could be so happy. I'll cherish this day forever. Thank you for sharing this with us! To all of you!" Sam held her glass up and their guests did, too.

"Kiss her!" Someone shouted. "Kiss!" Someone else yelled. Then the whole room was chanting for them to kiss again.

"My pleasure!" Jack said. He wrapped is arms around her but Sam still had the mike and her glass in her hand.

Jack gave her another lovely kiss and the DJ announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the bride and groom's first dance as husband and wife. He waited until they were both on the dance floor.

"Wait, what are we dancing to?" Sam asked.

"You'll see." Jack requested to be in charge of just one detail of the wedding and that was their first dance.

Sam was never more surprised than when she heard the first few words of the song. It brought a smile to her face.

 _Now I've had the time of my life_

 _No, I've never felt like this before_

 _Yes I swear it's the truth_

 _And I owe it all to you_

Jack held onto her firmly as they went around the dance floor. He didn't pretend to be Patrick Swayze, but from a few dance lessons they had taken Jack was able to hold his own and it impressed his new wife. Near the end of the song the dance floor was filled and Jack felt like he was in the movie _Dirty Dancing._

The DJ kicked it up a notch with the next song and Jack took Sam back to their seats. "I have another question to ask you," he said trying to talk over the music.

"Oh, boy!" she said.

"Would it be ok with you if I danced with Sara? I just want to check on her and make sure she's ok."

"Of course, Jack. Frankly, I'm surprised she came."

"I am too, but I'm kinda glad she did. It helps me know she's moved on." A while later Jack went over to Sara. He spotted a guy he didn't know sitting next to her. "Sara, may I have this dance?" He held his hand out to her.

"Me? Oh, you don't have to…"

"I want to, Sara, please."

She looked over at the stranger and they both shrugged their shoulders. "Uh, ok."

Once they were dancing Jack began, "I hope you're having a good time."

"Yes, it's a lovely wedding."

He knew she felt a little uncomfortable. "Are you ok?"

"Considering that I'm at my ex-husband's wedding, yeah, I guess."

"Sara, I'm not doing any of this to hurt you."

"I know, Jack," she said before he could continue. "It's ok for you to be happy. It wouldn't be fair for us to be miserable for the rest of our lives."

"You know you'll always have a special place in my heart. Sam knows that, too."

"Then you're lucky to have her. I can't honestly say I'd handle this the same way she has. She looks absolutely beautiful, by the way."

He looked over at Sam who was dancing with Daniel. "Yes, she does. So, who's that guy you brought?"

"Oh, a friend that knew I'd need a little help today."

"A friend?" Jack looked at her.

"Yes, a friend. He's gay."

"Oh!" Jack laughed.

"The kids looked really cute, too."

"Yeah, they're napping right now. I'm sure they'll both wake up when it's time for cake." They laughed.

The song was ending and Jack knew he had to make sure she was really ok. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I am, Jack. Really."

"If you ever need anything I'd be more than happy to help."

"I'll keep that in mind." The song ended but Sara held on to Jack. "Hey, just make sure they all know you love them."

"Thank you, Sara." He pulled her in for a hug. When Jack walked her back to her table he shook hands with Sara's friend. "Thanks for coming."

"It was my pleasure! I haven't been to a wedding this good in a long time."

"That makes two of us. Stay for the cake, I made sure it was amazing!" The trio smiled and Jack went back to sit with Sam.

The happy couple watched contently as their loved ones boogied down. At one point Janet stood and went over to Daniel. "Daniel, I've waited long enough. If you don't ask me out on a date I think I might burst."

Daniel sat there staring at her with his mouth hanging open. "I…uh…I had no idea you felt that way. I'd love to go out with you!"

"Good, you can start with dancing with me."

Daniel quickly obeyed and followed her to the dance floor. They were inseparable for the next few songs and after that they disappeared.

The music stopped and everyone looked toward the DJ. "It is now time for the traditional Father/Daughter dance!" he announced. The dance floor cleared as Sam and Jacob approached.

"Hey, Sammy!"

"Hi."

Jacob wanted to surprise her with his song of choice, too. Because you loved me by Celine Dion started playing and it immediately brought tears to Sam's eyes. Her father held her close as the music played on. Neither of them needed to say a word. The whole crowd sat mesmerized as they watched them float around the floor. By the time the song was over everyone in the room was crying.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, Sam." They hugged again and left the dance floor.

Jack had predicted correctly that the kids would wake up just in time for cake. He wanted to include them in the cake cutting, so he was happy. Hannah fed Jack a piece of cake then Andy gave one to Sam. The couple then gave some to the kids and passed them to Janet and Daniel, who appeared to have been attacked by wolves.

As the room slowly emptied of their guests Sam made sure Jack didn't eat the rest of the cake. She gave him a choice, "Cake or me."

He knew exactly what she meant. If he ate too much he wouldn't be able to, well, you know. Sam knew he wanted to leave as soon as possible and after making sure the kids would be all right she told Jack it was time.

The guests that still remained gave them a warm sending off as they got back into the limo. They would be staying at a ski lodge for the next 4 days. Neither of them had any desire to leave the warmth of their honeymoon suite. They both had plans of sitting in front of the warm fireplace eating delicious room service. Jack thought about trying to convince her to go ice fishing, but decided that this wasn't the right time.

"Jack?" Sam snuggled closer as they lay in their honeymoon bed.

"Hmm?" He wrapped his arms around her naked body.

"We should get up."

"What for?"

"A shower, maybe?"

"Nah, it can wait."

She laughed. "Not really. I feel kinda gross."

"That just means we've had a really good time."

"Yes, it does. But it doesn't mean we have to keep all the evidence."

"True. Will we get to stay naked after we shower?"

"You know, I packed us both some clothes."

"Waste of time."

"Apparently."

"Come on, it's already 10. It's going to be really hard to get back to our normal schedule. We have to check out tomorrow morning."

"Fine, but I'm not going to get dressed afterwards."

"Deal."

"Hey, wife?" Jack loved saying that.

"Yes, husband?" Sam loved it, too.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

And they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
